Blood Tests for Rheumatoid Arthritis & Kidney Disease

Rheumatoid arthritis patients need regular monitoring. Blood tests will help your physician monitor the progress of your disease and check for proper function of major organs like the kidneys, which can be compromised by some of the medications prescribed for the treatment of this disease.

Significance

• Rheumatoid arthritis or RA, is an autoimmune disease that attacks the joints and sometimes the organs of the body. This painful disease can cause eventual damage or deformity to joints. Rheumatoid arthritis does not have a cure, but pain management strategies and medications can control and limit the progress of the disease.

Blood Tests for RA

• Blood tests are used by medical professionals to evaluate the kind of arthritis you have, monitor the progress of the disease and decide whether your prescription medications are working as expected.
  Rheumatoid Factor and the Anti-CCP Antibody Test are common blood tests used by rheumatologists for diagnostic purposes. Positive results indicate rheumatoid arthritis. Many patients with rheumatoid arthritis will show negative Rheumatoid Factors, however, so talk to your doctor if you have questions about your test results.

Indicators of Inflammation

• The Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate test, C-Reactive Protein test and the white blood cell count are blood tests used to measure or indicate the presence of inflammation in the body. Other blood tests, such as the hematocrit (HCT) and hemoglobin (Hgb) tests (which examine red blood cells) are also used to check for inflammation. These tests can be used to measure the progress of the disease and effectiveness of treatment methods.

NSAIDs

• NSAIDS, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, are drugs commonly used to help regulate the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. They regulate inflammation and help with pain management, but long-term use of these drugs can affect kidney function by blocking enzymes that are needed for the proper functioning of this organ.

Kidney Function Tests

• Two blood tests are commonly used to check kidney function in patients taking NSAIDs. The first, the BUN, or blood urea nitrogen test, is often performed to check the amount of urea nitrogen in your blood, which can be used to verify your kidney function. The second blood test, for creatinine, shows the amount of creatinine in your blood. Since the kidneys are responsible for removing creatinine from the body, a higher than normal amount of creatinine in the body can indicate poor kidney function.