What does rheumatism factor mean?
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Rheumatoid factor is an antibody that exists in the serum of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid factor is mainly found in rheumatoid arthritis. It is an autoantibody that is important for the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, but it is not a specific indicator. That is to say, although rheumatoid factor is often detected in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, other diseases may sometimes be positive for rheumatoid factor.
When rheumatoid arthritis is more active, the titer of rheumatic factor may increase; when the disease is in remission, the titer may decrease. However, this is not an absolute rule, and the activity of the disease cannot be judged by relying solely on rheumatic factor. If the patient has joint symptoms accompanied by positive rheumatoid factor, especially when the titer is high, the doctor will highly suspect rheumatoid arthritis. However, in order to make a definite diagnosis, it is necessary to combine clinical symptoms, signs and other examinations, such as imaging examination, autoantibody spectrum, etc.
Rheumatoid factor is not positive in all patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Some patients may be negative for rheumatic factor despite typical clinical symptoms. This suggests that we should not rely on rheumatic factor alone when diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis, but need comprehensive judgment.
Rheumatoid factor is an important index related to rheumatoid arthritis, but it is necessary to correctly understand its significance and limitations in clinical application, and integrate various factors to diagnose and evaluate the disease.
