Arthritis Diagnosis

What would a doctor do? Read the details of the diagnosis.

Osteoarthritis

• The diagnosis is mainly done using X-rays. This is because:
  • loss of cartilage
  • subchondral ("below cartilage") sclerosis
  • subchondral cysts
  • closing of the joint room between the articulating bones
  • and bone spur formation are all clearly revealed on x-rays.
• MRI arthrocentesis and arthroscopy are widely used as well
• Careful manual study of the joint symptoms, duration and appearance can give a fair idea about osteoarthritis

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

To test for JIA there has to be both clinical diagnosis and a diagnosis of exclusion. This means that all other conditions that cause arthritis must be excluded. A complete physical exam along with medical history is to be taken, instead of simply relying on X- ray or blood tests.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

There are various blood tests which help to diagnose this form of arthritis

• Checking for RF (rheumatoid factor) is an available method. However a negative RF does not completely rule out the possibility of rheumatoid arthritis.
• Looking for anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) is a better diagnosis. Like RF, this test can detect approximately 80% of all RA patients, but is rarely positive in non-RA patients, giving it a specificity of around 98%.

Several other tests performed are:

• erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR)
• C-reactive protein
• full blood count
• renal function
• liver enzymes

Gout

Diagnosis can be done by checking for hyperuricemia uric acid concentration greater than 420 μmol/L (7.0 mg/dL) in males (or 380 μmol/L) in females.

Some other useful tests are:

• full blood count
• electrolytes
• renal function
• erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)