SMJ Article | Invited Commentary

Commentary on “Use of Rheumatologic Testing in Patients Who Eventually Receive a Diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis”

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune inflammatory disorder of unknown etiology, for which delay in diagnosis and treatment may cause irreversible structural joint damage in affected individuals. A large body of evidence supports that early diagnosis and aggressive treatment of RA have a fundamental role in the prevention...

Posted in: Rheumatology and Orthopedics18 Rheumatoid Arthritis2

SMJ Article | Original Article

Use of Rheumatologic Testing in Patients Who Eventually Receive a Diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Objectives: Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody (ACPA) has excellent specificity and prognostic value in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The American College of Rheumatology included ACPA in their 2010 classification criteria for RA, but we hypothesize that primary care physicians (PCPs) underuse ACPA, even when clinical suspicion for RA is...

Posted in: Rheumatology and Orthopedics18 Rheumatoid Arthritis2
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