- Diff Dx:
-
SLE
-
Psoriatic Arthritis
-
Ankylosing Spondylitis
- Mixed Connenctive Tissue Diseases
-
Reiter's Syndrome
- Polymyalgia
- Sjogren's syndrome
- Crystal deposition disease
-
Septic Arthritis
- Tuberculous Arthritis ("monoarticular arthritis");
- Discussion:
- lab tests alone cannot confirm the diagnosis of RA;
- RF can be present (usually low titers) in normal individuals and in association with other disease states;
- common lab findings in RA include decreased Hgb, elevated acute phase reactants (Sed Rate and C reative protein),
elevated serum cryoglobins, and precipitating antibioties to soluble antigens;
