1. < Autoimmune Diseases
Profile picture for grrranny

What are the standard tests for Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Posted by grrranny @grrranny, Oct 27, 2025

What are the standard tests for RA?
My 84 yr-old husband's new (and younger) Rheumatologist (since old one retired) just gave him 2 new tests that supposedly show he does not have RA, after having been treated for it for over 30 years!
She says he should drop the Azathioprine, and doesn't have to come back to her office, but to continue seeing ENDO for monthly Evenity injections for Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Autoimmune Diseases Support Group.

Profile picture for pb50
pb50 | @pb50 | Mar 7 5:30pm

Absolutely. Dr Mayur Patel - in Burlington on Huffman Mill Rd at Kernodle Clinic. I have had him since 2017 - first in Winston and when we both happened to move east of Greensboro I was able to keep him.

He is Awesome. Has Pharm-D as well. It sounds like he might be a bit of a hike for you, but it’s not like we see a Rheumy every week.

REPLY
Profile picture for prestol
prestol | @prestol | Mar 8 12:48pm
In reply to @fairn "@grrranny I have not tested positive using the older RF test, but I did test positive..." + (show)
Profile picture for fairn @fairn

@grrranny
I have not tested positive using the older RF test, but I did test positive on the CCP test. It's a newer test that can detect RA inflammation. You can have RA, but not test positive on the RF test, they call it sero-negative RA. The CCP test was developed to help detect it. If you can find a rheumatologist that will treat the symptoms of inflammation regardless of test results, that's a helpful approach. Here's a link to the CCP test info: https://www.healthline.com/health/ccp-antibody-test

Jump to this post

@fairn another even newer test is called anti-CarP, which helps diagnose RA even before many symptoms are present. It is predictive of disease joint erosion in sero- negative patients.

REPLY
Profile picture for missy245 Per
missy245 Per | @missy245 | Mar 15 12:36pm

I have had RA for over 25 years. Back then the anti-ccp ,which is a more precise diagnostic test, was not yet available. My RA factor was high, my CRP and sed rate were very high. And I was symptomatic, primarily in my hands. My Rheumatologist did not diagnose me with RA, but with inflammatory disease.
The reason being that RA factor can be elevated for reasons other than RA.
Once the Anti-ccp was available and was also very high, he changed my diagnosis to RA.

"A positive rheumatoid factor test result shows that you have a high level of rheumatoid factor in your blood. A higher level of rheumatoid factor in your blood is closely linked with autoimmune diseases, especially rheumatoid arthritis. But a number of other diseases and conditions can raise rheumatoid factor levels, including:

Cancer.
Chronic infections, such as viral hepatitis B and C.
Inflammatory lung diseases, such as sarcoidosis.
Mixed connective tissue disease.
Sjogren syndrome.
Systemic lupus erythematosus.

Some healthy people — usually older people — have positive rheumatoid factor tests, though it's not clear why. And some people who have rheumatoid arthritis will have low levels of rheumatoid factor in their blood.

Cigarette smokers also may have positive rheumatoid factors. Smoking is a risk factor for developing rheumatoid arthritis."
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/rheumatoid-factor/about/pac-20384800

REPLY
View MoreView Less
Please sign in or register to post a reply.