Are there tests for psoriatic arthritis?

[Caroline]

My regular doctor sent me to a rheumatologist to see if my arthritis was either psoriatic or rheumatoid.  Now I may have misunderstood as they did a blood test and it wasn't until my next visit that it was confirmed that I had neither psoriatic or rheumatoid arthritis and that mine was orthopedic.  The rhemmy did immediately say that he didn't think it was psoriatic, however he didn't fully commit to that until after the test results.  But it could be the test was mostly to rule out rheumatoid and I just misunderstood and it's been over a year now since I had that done.  I just seem to recall that the test was to see if I had one or the other.   Perhaps they use the blood test as one way to help them diagnose (as Fred said in his post) and that just wasn't explained very well to me.

Good luck Jim!

I am fairly sure that many years ago now I was tested to see what arthritis I had and they did it with a blood test like Kat though it was in the dim and distant past.

Thanks for your answers I will have to wait until my next appointment in July with the rheumatologist and see what she thinks  

Just found this JIm ,must have had a blood test to see what I had not got as opposed to the PsA.

At present there are no definitive guidelines for diagnosing psoriatic arthritis; a doctor will make a diagnosis based on symptoms and medical history, and by ruling out other conditions. Usually, a blood test will be carried out to test for rheumatoid factor (the antibody found in rheumatoid arthritis). This is usually negative in people with psoriatic arthritis, although a positive result can be due to causes other than rheumatoid arthritis. A doctor may also use X Rays, ultrasounds or other scans, such as an MRI to look at the patient’s joints. These scans often show inflammation or areas of new bone growth with poorly-defined edges in people with psoriatic arthritis.

That is exactly what the doctor said to me also a decade ago when my PSA started. Nothing to find in my blood but joints showed inflammation.

[jiml]

Thanks Caroline so I guess it's mainly their experience that decides

[mataribot]

An ultrasound with the proper equipment and proper staff is one of better choices for arthritis. I say this in caution - roughly 15% that properly trained by experts fail at ultrasound. There are two blood test CRP and ESR. CRP test short term inflammation, while ESR is long term inflammation. All three together is good as gets for a diagnosis.

You also may want to look for "pencil in the cup." Damage in the fingers from PsA tends to look like this. A decent rheumatologist can guess it from feeling the hands and using imaging to back it up.

[jiml]

An ultrasound with the proper equipment and proper staff is one of better choices for arthritis. I say this in caution - roughly 15% that properly trained by experts fail at ultrasound. There are two blood test CRP and ESR. CRP test short term inflammation, while ESR is long term inflammation. All three together is good as gets for a diagnosis.

Thanks Matari that's useful information, but now I will have to wait to see what the rheumatologist makes of the pictures,  what does ESR and CRP mean

[mataribot]

ESR = erythrocyte sedimentation rate,
CRP = C-reactive protein.

[jiml]

ESR = erythrocyte sedimentation rate,
CRP = C-reactive protein.

Thanks again Matari I will see if I'm getting those tests when I see my regular doctor soon, who is quite helpful

[mataribot]

Another thing Jiml, OA typically goes away with rest, not get worse. If you're having stiffness in the morning my guess is it PsA, but hey I can be wrong.

[jiml]

Another thing Jiml, OA typically goes away with rest, not get worse. If you're having stiffness in the morning my guess is it PsA, but hey I can be wrong.

I hope you're wrong but I suspect you are right ......it has been my fear for a while now, my nails have always been striated and split, so as the morning stiffness to my feet and hands has got worse I thought I should get checked out..... I have the symptoms although my fingers aren't swollen, just a bit fatter around the knuckles and it hurts when I grip things
Time will tell I guess, but I will ask the doctors if they have done those tests ... That will piss them off if they haven't and I'm trying to tell them what to do

[mataribot]

Going to be evil. Your mind is has been brainwashed by lousy physicians. When it comes to PsA, you can't see most of the inflammation. So don't go by how much swelling there is. Simply go there, tell her (hopefully it's some hot gorgeous girl ) how you feel and go from there.

[Bill]

My experience of psa was most visibly of swollen knuckles. I could hold left and right knuckles together and see the size difference. It also affected different knuckles at different times, including toes. I guess it would be good to rule out RA but I dont see how it would make much difference to the initial treatment. Only thoracic and cervical pain now. The doxycycline helps a bit but I think it is the DMF that has made the biggest difference.