Blood Tests Help to Accurately Diagnose Rheumatic Diseases

Blood Tests Help to Accurately Diagnose Rheumatic Diseases By Carol Eustice If you experience early symptoms that may be associated with arthritis and consult your doctor, you should expect to have blood tests ordered as part of the diagnostic process. While there is no blood test that can identify a specific type of arthritis with 100% certainty, the tests do provide useful information. Positive results serve as indicators which may point towards arthritis, but your medical history, a physical examination, and imaging studies are also considered. It is important for you to understand which blood tests are ordered, what positive and negative results mean, and to obtain your results. Sedimentation Rate - What Does It Tell About Arthritis?  A sedimentation rate, also commonly referred to as a sed rate, is a blood test that detects nonspecific inflammation in the body. Nonspecific means the test does not identify the source of the problem. READ NOW What Is the CRP (C-Reactive Protein) Test?  C-Reactive Protein, or CRP, is a test that measures the concentration in blood serum of a special type of protein produced in the liver. The protein is present during episodes of acute inflammation or infection. READ NOW What Is the Anti-CCP Test ?  An anti-CCP assay is able to detect the autoantibodies against citrullinated proteins which have a relatively high sensitivity (reportedly between 50-75%) for rheumatoid arthritis and extremely high specificity (about 90%) for rheumatoid arthritis. READ NOW Rheumatoid Factor Blood Test - Understanding the Results  If your doctor suspects that you may have rheumatoid arthritis, the rheumatoid factor test will almost certainly be among the first diagnostic tests ordered. Rheumatoid factor is an autoantibody (IgM usually) which binds to the Fc region of IgG. READ NOW What Is the ANA Test (Antinuclear Antibody Test)?  An ANA test (antinuclear antibody test) can be performed on a patient's blood sample as part of the diagnostic process for certain autoimmune diseases. READ NOW What Is Vectra DA?  Vectra DA, developed by Crescendo Bioscience, is a multi-biomarker blood test for assessing rheumatoid arthritis disease activity in patients treated with DMARDs (disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs) and biologic drugs. READ NOW Obtaining Your Medical Test Results  Obtaining medical test results is a must. If your doctor orders medical tests to help diagnose your condition or to monitor your treatment, don't stop short of obtaining the results yourself. Many patients don't realize they are entitled to a full report of their medical test results. READ NOW Advertisement READ THESE NEXT Can a DAN Autism Doctor Help? Self Test: How Resilient Are You? Understanding Type 2 Diabetes Quiz: Do You Worry Too Much Are you pregnant? This quiz knows... Could You Have Psoriatic Arthritis? Quiz: Does Your Thinking Style Make You An Optimist? What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have? AN ABOUT.COM BRAND You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the Arthritis & Joint Conditions newsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click here 1500 Broadway, 6th Floor, New York, NY, 10036 © 2016 Verywell.com - All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.