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.