Rheumatoid arthritis

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Synovial fluid

Rheumatoid arthritis

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Rheumatoid arthritis

Alternative Names:

RA; Arthritis - rheumatoid

Symptoms:

The disease usually begins gradually with fatigue, morning stiffness (lasting more than one hour), widespread muscle aches, loss of appetite, and weakness. Eventually, joint pain appears. When the joint is not used for a while, it can become warm, tender, and stiff. When the lining of the joint (synovium) becomes inflamed, it gives off more fluid and the joint becomes swollen. Joint pain is often felt on both sides of the body, and may effect the wrist, knees, elbows, fingers, toes, ankle or neck. Additional symptoms include:

Loss of appetite
Low-grade fever
Limited range of motion
Deformities of hands and feet
Round, painless nodules under the skin (usually a sign of more severe disease)
Inflammation of the lung (pleurisy)
Skin redness or inflammation
Paleness
Swollen glands
Eye burning, itching, and discharge
Numbness or tingling
Anemia may occur due to failure of the bone marrow to produce enough new red cells.

Joint destruction may occur within 1-2 years after the appearance of the disease.

Signs and tests:

Joint x-rays
Rheumatoid factor test is positive in about 75% of people with symptoms
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate is elevated
CBC may show low hematocrit (anemia) or abnormal platelet counts
C-reactive protein may be a positive indication for patients with no detectable rheumatoid factor
Synovial fluid analysis

References:

US Food and Drug Administration. FDA Announces Series of Changes to the Class of Marketed Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs). Rockville, MD: National Press Office; April 7, 2005. Press Release P05-16.

US Food and Drug Administration. FDA Issues Public Health Advisory Recommending Limited Use of Cox-2 Inhibitors. Rockville, MD: National Press Office; December 23, 2004. Talk Paper T04-61.

Review Date: 8/19/2005
Reviewed By: A.D.A.M. editorial. Previously reviewed by Stanford Peng, M.D., Ph.D., Division of Rheumatology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. (4/27/2004)

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