How is it diagnosed?
Have you got the 'S Factor'?
Please click here to see our public awareness campaign to highlight the symptoms which may relate to RA, the most common form of inflammatory arthritis.
If you have sudden onset RA, it is relatively easy to diagnose. You go to bed healthy and well one night and wake up the next day in a lot of pain, unable to get out of bed. If, however your disease develops gradually over a period of time, which is common for many, it is much more difficult to diagnose and there is no one definitive diagnostic test that you can take which can give you an immediate definite diagnosis. It is a ‘clinical’ diagnosis, which means that a whole range of things are taken into account by the Doctor such as:
- Signs of swollen joints, (eg. Fingers, wrist, other joint areas)
- Stiffness, particularly early in the morning
- Pain on ‘Squeeze’ test (knuckles)
- Raised inflammatory markers in a blood test (CRP + ESR)
- Presence of Rheumatoid Factor (though about 30% of people with RA do not have Rheumatoid Factor)
We now know that it is incredibly important to seek help from your GP at a very early stage if you have any of the above symptoms and then for the GP to refer as rapidly as possible to specialist care for a diagnosis (and not wait for tests to be done if inflammatory arthritis is a possibility). Some GPs have a specialist interest in musculoskeletal medicine and will be more knowledgeable than the generalist GP at spotting these early symptoms, however, diagnosis should normally be given by an expert – the Consultant Rheumatologist, who will get you started on treatment straight away.
Original article: 27/07/2010
Reviewed: N/A
Next review due:27/07/2013
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