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Last updated Wednesday, September 14, 2005
How is rheumatoid arthritis diagnosed?
In diagnosing RA, a health care professional (physician, physician's assistant, or nurse practioner) will take a complete patient history before performing a physical examination.
The care provider will look for certain features, including the joints involved. Sometimes the physician will order laboratory tests and X-rays. Common joint patterns include involvement of many joints (large and small) and arthritis affecting the small joints of the hands and feet
Blood tests can be useful to make a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis but are secondary to a history and physical examination. Abnormalities in blood tests common in RA can include anemia and the presence of the antibody called rheumatoid factor. Some people with rheumatoid arthritis do not have a positive rheumatoid factor, and indeed many individuals with a positive blood test for rheumatoid factor do not have RA. Although X-rays early in rheumatoid arthritis can be normal, the pattern of joint damage seen on X-rays of people with long term disease can help confirm the diagnosis. In some cases it may not be easy for your health care provider to make the diagnosis with great certainty due to the lack of significant arthritis and other distinctive features of RA. It may take several months for enough features to appear to be certain of the diagnosis.
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