Predicting Rheumatoid Arthritis Risk in Adults With Undifferentiated Arthritis

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-15-2008

Abstract

CLINICAL QUESTION: Which adults with undifferentiated arthritis have a high risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA)?

EVIDENCE SUMMARY: Early use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) markedly reduces inflammation and joint destruction associated with RA. 1,2. Therefore, with early diagnosis of RA and appropriate use of DMARDs, there is a window of opportunity to change the clinical course of this disabling disease.

However, diagnosing RA in the early stages of the disease is difficult. Many patients who are diagnosed with RA presented earlier with undifferentiated arthritis to a primary care physician. Undifferentiated arthritis is diagnosed when signs, symptoms, and laboratory test results do not meet the American College of Rheumatology's (formerly the American Rheumatism Association) classification for a definitive diagnosis of RA (Table 133).

Publication Title

American Family Physician

Volume

77

Issue

10

First Page

1451

Last Page

1453

PubMed ID

18533381

Comments

This article was published in American Family Physician, Volume 77, Issue 10, May 15, 2008, Pages 1451-3.

The published version is available at http://www.aafp.org/afp/2008/0515/p1451.html

Copyright © 2008 by the American Academy of Family Physicians

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