Rheumatism is a common chronic self-immunised disease that causes many problems to the lives and health of patients. Rheumatization is important for the diagnosis of rheumatism and for disease surveillance. The knowledge of rheumatism tests helps patients to better understand their condition and to cooperate actively with doctors.
First, what is a rheumatist? The rheumatist is an antibody, mainly in serum and joint fluid for patients with rheumatism. It is actually an antibodies produced by the organism against the body-modified immunoglobin G (IgG), i.e., the body’s immune system is abnormally immune to its own normal tissue, resulting in a rheumatizing factor. There are various types of rheumatist factors, commonly IgM-type, in addition to IgG, Iga, etc. These different types of rheumatist factors may play different roles in the incidence and progression of rheumatism.
In the diagnosis of rheumatism, rheumatism is one of the important indicators of reference. If the patient ‘ s type of rheumatism is positive, especially when the drip is high, doctors are highly suspicious of the possibility of rheumatism when combined with the patient ‘ s joint symptoms, such as symmetric swelling, pain, morning rigidity, etc. It should be noted, however, that the positive nature of the rheumatism factor does not necessarily mean that it suffers from rheumatism. Other diseases, such as systemic red weeds, dry syndromes, certain infectious diseases (e.g., hepatitis B, C) and the presence of rheumatism positive among older persons may also occur. So, the results of the rheumatological test require a combination of clinical behaviour of the patient, other laboratory tests (e.g. anti-cyclogualium amino acid antibodies, blood sank, C reaction protein, etc.) and visual examinations (e.g. X-line, MRI imaging, etc.). In addition to the diagnostic value, the examination of rheumatological factors is also critical for monitoring changes in the condition of patients with rheumatism. In the course of treatment, doctors can learn about the effects of treatment by regularly testing the rheumatization factor levels. If the treatment is effective, the drip level of the rheumatist factor may decrease gradually; conversely, if the rheumatist factor droplets continue to rise or do not change significantly, it may suggest that the treatment programme needs to be adjusted.
III. Examination process The rheumatization factor normally requires taking blood samples from patients. Patients generally do not need to have an empty stomach, but it is advisable to avoid intense exercise and drinking before the examination, so as not to affect the results of the examination. In hospital testing, medical personnel use a one-off syringe to extract the appropriate amount of blood from the patient ‘ s vein, usually 3 – 5 ml of blood. The blood extracted is sent to the laboratory to determine the type and drip of the rheumatist factor using specific detection methods such as the emulsion condensation test and the enzyme immunosuption test (ELISA). Among them, the emulsion gel gel test is a more common qualitative test method, which results in a condensed reaction of the emulsive particles if the rheumatic factor in the serum is high, whereas ELISA can more accurately measure the level of the rheumatist factor and provide doctors with more detailed medical information.
The results are interpreted. The results of the rheumatization test are usually expressed in drops or quantitative values. In general, if the rheumatist subdivision is greater than 1:32 or the quantitative test value is beyond normal range, it is considered positive. However, as mentioned earlier, positive results cannot be directly diagnosed with rheumatism. For rheumatism patients, the dropting of the rheumatism factor is not always fully proportional to the severity of the condition. Some patients may have relatively light symptoms, although the rheumatism factor is very high, while others may already have significant joint damage and functional impairments. Therefore, the severity and prognosis of the condition cannot be judged solely on the basis of the dropting of the rheumatist factor, but other factors need to be considered in a comprehensive manner.
