Blood tests for rheumoprobes

Rheumatic tests are an analysis that determines the presence of inflammatory markers in the blood. They are one of the methods of early diagnostics of oncological diseases, rheumatism, and infectious pathologies.

What tests are included in rheumatic tests and what do they show?

The analysis is a comprehensive study, during which the number of main factors capable of provoking oncology and other pathologies is determined. It is important to know the percentage ratio of these indicators, since any change can indicate various forms of pathology. These indicators can be used to identify the severity of the disease and determine its stage.

Identification of these indicators makes it possible to identify the etiological factor and develop tactics and strategy for further struggle. Also, with the help of this analysis, it is possible to control the treatment process, if necessary, make certain adjustments to it.

RF

Rheumatoid factor is an indicator of an acute pathological process in the body. In a healthy person, these indicators are zero, that is, the rheumatoid factor is absent. However, there are certain indicators that are considered acceptable and are considered normal indicators. Thus, for an adult, the rheumatoid factor indicator should not exceed 14 IU/ml. If the indicators do not exceed the permissible norm, the result is considered negative; if they increase, a positive result occurs. The indicators differ for different age categories: for children, they are lower, for an adult, they are higher.

Its appearance in the blood can be physiological, that is, it occurs for natural, quite understandable reasons for the body. For example, an increase occurs if the person ate fatty foods, did heavy physical labor, or did intense physical exercise the evening before taking the test. Almost always, this protein is present in the blood of an elderly person, which is associated with natural age-related changes in the body. When taking certain medications, the level can significantly decrease, which gives a false negative result.

If the amount of RF significantly exceeds the norm, this is a sign of an inflammatory disease of any etiology and localization. This often occurs with rheumatoid arthritis, hepatitis, mononucleosis, autoimmune diseases.

Antistreptolysin ASLO

It is a factor aimed at lysis (elimination) of streptococcal infection. That is, its growth occurs with an increased content of streptococci. This can occur with various infectious and inflammatory diseases, bacteremia, sepsis. Often, an increase in streptococci occurs with primary damage to the urogenital tract, respiratory tract, kidneys, intestines. With prolonged exposure to infection on the body, autoimmune diseases can develop. Sepsis, purulent and erysipelas diseases are considered as complications.

In healthy individuals, Antistreptolysin O is also present in the blood, but its levels should be within the permissible norm. It is also necessary to take into account the presence of concomitant factors that may indicate infection. The level of antistreptolysin may increase against the background of excessive cholesterol, high physical activity and stress. False negative results with a reduced level of antistreptolysin protein can be obtained when taking certain hormonal drugs and antibiotics.

Seromucoids

This is a complex of serum glycoproteins that contain a carbohydrate component, due to which it performs a number of functions in the body. Usually, the amount of seromucoids in plasma increases sharply against the background of inflammation. This has an important diagnostic value in many pathological conditions, sluggish inflammations that practically do not bother a person and are difficult to detect by clinical methods. This is one of the most reliable methods of early diagnosis.

Allows for timely detection of such diseases as diabetes mellitus, myocardial infarction, pyelonephritis and glomerulonephritis, tuberculosis. The importance of this method is that it makes it possible to detect a disease long before it manifests itself clinically, and, accordingly, measures can be taken to prevent it.

It is also often used to draw a conclusion about the advisability of performing a thyroidectomy, i.e. removing the thyroid gland. It is an additional, clarifying method in diagnosing oncology.

C reactive protein

One of the indicators of an acute inflammatory process. It is used both for diagnostics and for monitoring the effectiveness of treatment. Thus, an increase in the amount of this protein in the plasma indicates the development of inflammation. If, against the background of the treatment, the level decreases, this indicates the effectiveness of the treatment. It can also be a sign of an oncological disease, a harbinger of myocardial infarction. A low level of this protein is ignored, since it has no clinical significance. It performs important physiological functions in the human body, for example, it increases the amount of antibodies needed to fight infection against an infectious disease. It has a stimulating effect and activates the immune system. But this function also has a downside - excessive stimulation of the immune system can lead to the development of an autoimmune pathology, in which internal organs are damaged by their own antibodies.

Its reaction rate is high. It reacts quickly (within 4-5 hours after infection). The rate of growth of the level of this protein is directly proportional to the rate of development of the pathology. The more actively the disease progresses, the faster the protein level increases. Therefore, monitoring these indicators in dynamics can be of great diagnostic value.

It is also necessary to take into account that the protein shows only the acute stage of the disease, when it passes into the chronic form, the amount of protein becomes normal. Therefore, it is important to conduct the study on time. Growth can resume when the disease passes from the chronic form to the exacerbation stage.

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Indications for the procedure rheumatic tests

It is advisable to undergo the test for preventive purposes for people over 25-27 years old, as well as those who have a hereditary predisposition to the development of oncological diseases. It is prescribed to all patients who have complaints of pain in the joints, muscles, or any other pain of a constant nature. It is carried out with an unreasonable increase in body temperature, especially if it lasts for a long time and does not decrease with the use of antipyretics. The indication is joint stiffness, swelling. Long-term headaches, rheumatoid arthritis are also direct indications for the test.

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Preparation

You must not eat food 8 hours before the test. You can only drink still water. It is also not recommended to eat fatty foods or take any medications a few days before the test. This will eliminate the possibility of inaccuracies and erroneous data and increase the reliability of the test. If you have been treated with antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, or other medications, the test will have to be postponed for 2 weeks. If you cannot stop taking medications or you need urgent medication, you should tell your doctor about it. It is also not recommended to drink tea, medications, coffee, or fried foods a day before the test. You should avoid excessive physical and mental stress.

Is it possible to take a rheumatic test outside of an exacerbation?

Outside of an exacerbation, samples are taken for preventive purposes. This is recommended for elderly people first of all, as well as for people who have reached the age of 25. It is necessary to take the test every year. It is also necessary to conduct a study for people who have a tendency to oncological diseases, with rheumatism, constant pain and frequent fever.

Tests can also be done to assess the effectiveness of the therapy used. In the acute stage, they are used to establish a primary diagnosis. It makes no sense to take a test to determine CRP outside the acute stage, since it is an indicator of an acute inflammatory process and in the absence of the disease, or outside the acute stage, its level will be normal.

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Technique rheumatic tests

To conduct the analysis, blood must be properly taken from a vein. This is done in the procedure room by a procedural nurse. A small amount of blood is needed. After that, it is placed in a test tube. The PCR method was previously used directly for conducting the study, but today it is outdated, so preference is given to the turbodimetric method. In this case, a quantitative determination is made and the percentage ratio of the specified indicators is determined. The results are issued in the form of a medical report.

How is blood taken for rheumatology tests?

It is taken in laboratory conditions from a vein, by means of a standard venipuncture, observing all the rules of asepsis and the technique of taking venous blood. Then it is delivered to the laboratory for further research.

Normal performance

For this analysis, the norm is a very conditional name. It is necessary to understand that rheumatic tests are a complex of studies that consist of determining various independent indicators that may not be related to each other in any way. Each of the studied indicators has its own individual norms. In addition, they significantly depend on age, physiological state of the body, life history and illness.

Rheumatology tests are negative.

Negative results are when the indicators are within the normal range or below it. Everything depends on the specific sample. In general, low indicators indicate the functional state of the body, for example, pregnancy, overwork, nervous tension.

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Rheumatology tests are positive

A positive result indicates their growth. At the same time, specific indicators depend on the type of study. For example, CRP indicators increase with the development of an acute inflammatory process in the body. At the same time, antistreptolysin indicates an increase in streptococci.

It is necessary to take into account that rheumatic tests may increase slightly after eating fatty, fried foods, after intense exercise. Some indicators may remain elevated after an infectious disease, as well as in elderly people, which is associated with numerous changes occurring in the body.

Rheumatology tests in children

Children also sometimes have to take rheumatic tests. Most often, such a need arises against the background of inflammatory and infectious diseases. If a streptococcal infection is suspected, antistreptolysin levels are needed.

Numerous scientific studies have confirmed that the level of antistreptolysin in school-age children fluctuates depending on many factors, even the region of residence. Thus, in the USA the normal titer is 240 U, while in India and Korea these indicators vary from 240 to 330 U. Therefore, the concept of the norm in this case is very conditional. Even in completely healthy children these indicators can significantly exceed the "norm" indicators.

It is necessary to take into account that even the presence of a high titer of antistreptolysin does not yet indicate the presence of the disease, since antibodies persist for a long time, and sometimes even a lifetime, after the disease. Therefore, a high titer may indicate that the child has stable immunity to streptococcal infection. After treatment, the highest antibody content is observed at 5-6 weeks, after which it slowly returns to normal values. Recovery can take from 1 month to several years or even more.

The level of seromucoids indicates the development of an infection, including chickenpox, rubella, measles. This level is especially high in the first days of the disease. In newborns, unlike adults, CRP is not an indicator of infection. The protein level may not increase even with the development of sepsis. The reason is the functional immaturity of the immune system, kidneys, liver and other systems.

The device for analysis

To conduct the study, a whole complex of high-quality laboratory equipment is required, which will ensure technologization at each stage of the study. Thus, it is necessary to fully provide all stages, starting from blood sampling and ending with the issuance of the result. The study is carried out using the turbodimetric method.

Raising and lowering of values

Since rheumatic tests are a complex analysis, to decipher it, it is first necessary to determine the main indicators that are included in this complex and determine the list of pathologies that may be indicated by one or another deviation from the norm.

The first thing to determine is the total protein. If it is elevated, this indicates that a pathological process is occurring in the human body, a disease is developing. But it is impossible to determine what pathology is taking place based on this data alone. Therefore, we pay attention to the following indicators.

Albumin is a protein produced by the human liver. This protein is not considered separately, it is part of fractions. Therefore, the ratio between these fractions has diagnostic significance.

Reduced levels of protein fractions can be observed during pregnancy, breastfeeding, and in many smokers. This picture is often observed after prolonged fasting, frequent diets, with a lack of nutrients, especially proteins, and also when using hormonal contraceptives and other estrogen drugs.

Also, a decrease in albumin may indicate the development of various pathological conditions, such as intestinal diseases. It can also be a consequence of damage to internal organs. This indicator also significantly decreases in malignant neoplasms and suppurations.

Rheumatoid factor is antibodies that appear only against the background of some disease. Most often, it is rheumatoid arthritis. It is always detected in case of autoimmune aggression of the body. It is an important indicator of the severity of thyroiditis. It is based on this indicator that a conclusion is made about whether the thyroid gland needs to be removed.

Antistreptolysin - O (ASLO) is an antibody to streptococcus, which is formed in the human body after contact with infection. Its increase indicates the development of infectious pathology of streptococcal etiology and infectious and inflammatory processes of varying severity: from mild to sepsis. The change also occurs against the background of tonsillitis, scarlet fever, kidney disease, liver disease, purulent-septic pathologies. Streptococcus can affect almost any organ. Previously, streptococcal endocarditis was a fairly common disease, but today this pathology is extremely rare. Most often, infectious glomerulonephritis is diagnosed using rheumatic tests for antistreptolysins.

CRP is detected in inflammatory processes occurring in the acute phase. An increase in the level indicates the development of oncological processes, being a precursor to myocardial infarction. This protein quickly reacts to any tissue damage and stimulates the body's protective functions. It should be taken into account that taking hormonal drugs, contraceptives can also lead to an increase in the CRP titer.

Uric acid helps remove excess nitrogen from the body. It is synthesized in the liver in the form of sodium salts and is contained in the blood plasma. It is excreted by the kidneys. An increase in rheumatic tests indicates the development of kidney pathology. In addition, this indicates hyperuricemia, which leads to gout. The danger of this disease is that uric acid salts can crystallize and be deposited in various parts of the body, including bones, joints, and muscles. This usually leads to the development of arthritis. A decrease in uric acid levels can occur while taking diuretics and other medications.

Circulating immune complexes (CIC) are the main indicator of autoimmune aggression, and often indicate the development of inflammation of an autoimmune nature. Their level may increase against the background of bacterial and viral infection, viral persistence, latent infection, allergic reaction. An increase in the level may also occur in more severe pathologies, such as oncological processes, rheumatism, fungal infections.

Each doctor has a table on the basis of which the data is interpreted. Each indicator and age has its own evaluation criteria, presented in the table below.

Indicator	Normal value
	Children under 14 years old	Adults	Elderly people (over 60 years old)
Total protein, g/l	46-76	65-85	63-83
Albumin, g/l	38-54	35-50	34-48
Rheumatoid factor, IU/ml	Up to 12.5	Up to 14	Up to 14
Antistreptolysin O, U/ml	0-150	0-200	0-200
C-reactive protein, mg/l	0-5	0-5	0-5
CIC, U/ml	30-90	30-90	30-90
Uric acid, µmol/l	80-362	140-480	150-480

Rheumatic tests for SLE

Systemic lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disease. In this case, cells and tissues are perceived as foreign due to the pathological process. And the body begins to produce antibodies against them. Ultimately, inflammation develops in those cells that have been subjected to autoimmune aggression.

In this case, the analysis will show an increased content of total protein. But what pathology is present in the body is determined by other indicators. Most autoimmune diseases are diagnosed based on an increase in the level of CIC (circulating immune complexes), which are a direct reflection of the state of the immune system.

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Rheumatic tests and vasculitis

Vasculitis is an inflammation of the vessels, which, like any other inflammation, is easy to detect using rheumatic tests. In this case, an increase in CRP - C-reactive protein, which is the main indicator of the inflammatory process, can have diagnostic value. Detection indicates that the inflammation is in the acute stage. With this disease, autoimmune aggression develops against human blood vessels, as a result of which their permeability is significantly reduced, they become fragile, bleeding, painful. Edema and severe hyperemia develop.

Rheumatic tests for latent infection

In case of latent infection, the level of seromucoids increases, which are the first to react to the penetration of infection. The level of C-reactive protein also increases significantly, since this is the main protein that provokes the production of antibodies in response to an infectious attack. If the level of streptococci in the body increases significantly, the level of antistreptolysin increases. At the same time, the main role in detecting latent infection is still given to CRP, which attaches to pathogenic microorganisms, making them more “noticeable” for the immune system, which triggers a complex of immune reactions aimed at eliminating the pathogen from the body. Then, directly at the site of inflammation, CRP binds to the decay products of microorganisms and protects it from negative effects. This leads to the activation of phagocytosis, as a result of which the pathogenic flora is absorbed and eliminated.

Despite the fact that the normal values are known, only a doctor can correctly interpret rheumatic tests, since not only quantitative indicators are important, but also their ratio. The clinical picture of the pathology, associated factors, and anamnesis are necessarily taken into account. If necessary, additional studies are prescribed.