Polyarthralgia Differential Diagnosis

Recent guidelines devised to promote early diagnosis.

Polyarthralgia differential diagnosis. The broad array of choices history narrows the field physical exam confirms suspicion. The first step is to distinguish between true articular pain and nonarticular or periarticular. During this test your doctor will use a syringe to remove synovial fluid. Anamnesis should be target oriented and obtained proficiently a detailed physical examination should be performed and thereafter possible differential diagnoses should be identified.

Systemic evaluation is essential for making a differential diagnosis in a patient with polyarthritis. Labs and x rays icing on the cake and don t. Radiographs normal in early disease and we like to keep them that way. This evaluation usually includes looking at the person s medical history and a physical.

Some of the diagnostic tests your doctor may use to help diagnose your condition include. Ra and fibromyalgia are often co morbid sometimes leading to diagnostic confusion or a delay in the diagnosis of seronegative ra. The causes include various self limited illnesses and others that are potentially disabling and life threatening. The first step though is to analyze the patient s medical history checking for any previous injuries and their family history for any signs of arthritis.

The history and physical examination generally provide the most useful diagnostic information. Polyarthritis outline 1. Polyarticular pain in an adult is encountered frequently in clinical practice. The medical diagnosis of polyarthralgia includes an initial evaluation of the person by the doctor.

Supporting or confirmatory data are obtained from laboratory and imaging studies or more rarely from tissue biopsy. Polyarticular arthritis is commonly encountered in clinical settings and has multiple etiologies. The diagnosis of polyarthralgia can be a lengthy process involving numerous tests to differentiate the diagnosis from any other type of arthritis.