- RA criteria: (if 5 out of following are present for > 6 weeks);
- morning stiffness;
- pain on motion, or tenderness in at least one joint;
- swelling (soft tissue thickening or fluid, not bony overgrowth alone) in at least one joint;
- swelling of at least one other joint (any interval free of joint symptoms between the two joint);
- poor mucin precipitate from synovial fluid
- characteristic histologic changes in synovium
- characteristic histologic changes in nodules
- Exclusion Criteria:
- rash of systemic lupus erythematosus
- high concentration of LE cells, or other clear-cut evidence of lupus;
- histologic evidence of periarteritis nodosa;
- clinical features of dermatomyositis, scleroderma;
- acute rheumatic fever;
- gouty arthritis
- infectious arthritis
- Reiter's syndrome
- shoulder-hand syndrome
- hypertrophic osteoarthropathy
- neuroarthropathy
- alkaptonuria
- sarcoidosis
- multiple myeloma
- erythema nodosum
- leukemia, lymphoma, or agammaglobulinemia
Review Articles: Current Concepts: Acute Monoarthritis.
Review Article: Current Concepts: Polyarthritis and Fever.