Does normal rheumatoid factor rule out rheumatoid?

Normal rheumatoid factor generally does not rule out rheumatoid because diagnostic criteria for rheumatoid arthritis include clinical findings, laboratory tests, and imaging tests. If the patient has symptoms suspected of rheumatoid arthritis, it is advisable to seek medical attention promptly for relevant investigations.

1. Clinical manifestations: rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease with erosive and symmetrical polyarthritis as the main clinical manifestations, which can invade multiple joints in the body, such as fingers, wrists, elbows, knees and other parts, and is often accompanied by symptoms such as morning stiffness and fatigue;

2. Laboratory examination: rheumatoid factor is an antibody in the human body, mainly found in the blood of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.If the antibody is not present in the patient's body, there is no inflammatory response in the patient's body. However, rheumatoid factor is not a specific indicator, so it does not completely rule out rheumatoid arthritis;

3. Imaging examination: In addition to the above two methods, auxiliary diagnosis can also be carried out through X-ray examination, CT examination and other methods. If the joint space is narrowed or absent on x-ray, bone destruction may be present. CT scans, on the other hand, can observe swelling of the soft tissues around the joints.

For patients with suspected rheumatoid arthritis, care should be taken to keep warm and avoid cold in daily life. At the same time, appropriate exercise should be carried out to enhance the body's resistance.