“What should I be paying attention to in my RA-related blood work?” 

In our second episode, we will be exploring blood work in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and how lab results are viewed and used by someone living with RA and by an expert rheumatologist. We are joined by Dr. Liana Fraenkel, attending rheumatologist at the Berkshire Medical Center and Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Yale University, and Deen Allen, a PhD in cosmetic chemistry and patient advocate who lives with RA. We also go on site at the EULAR 2023 conference in Milan, Italy, where Dr. Nowell presents his research and interviews RA patients Deb Constien and Eileen Davidson about the topic. Although blood work provides useful information about RA disease, it has limitations. With future innovations, blood work may be able to tell us much more.

This podcast is a co-production by the Global Healthy Living Foundation and HCP Live. 

Additional Resources:

(1.) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/acr.25187

Nowell WB, Venkatachalam S, Gavigan K, et al. OP0288-PARE Patient Perceptions of Rheumatoid Arthritis Blood Work and Utility of a Test Predicting Response to New Medication: A Cross-Sectional Survey in the ArthritisPower Registry. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 2023;82:188. 

(2.) https://learn.creakyjoints.org/ra-tests/

A Patient’s Guide to Understanding Rheumatoid Arthritis Testing & Monitoring – CRP, ESR, Vectra, and More: Learn about the main RA blood tests and what they can — and can’t — reveal about your health 

(3.) https://nras.org.uk/resource/blood-matters/

Blood Matters: A guide to the blood tests used in managing rheumatoid arthritis and adult juvenile idiopathic arthritis 

(4.) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25365085/

Pincus T, Gibson KA, Shmerling RH. An evidence-based approach to laboratory tests in usual care of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2014 Sep-Oct;32(5 Suppl 85):S-23-8. Epub 2014 Oct 30. PMID: 25365085. 

(5.) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19962617/

Pincus T, Sokka T. Laboratory tests to assess patients with rheumatoid arthritis: advantages and limitations. Rheum Dis Clin North Am. 2009 Nov;35(4):731-4, vi-vii. doi: 10.1016/j.rdc.2009.10.007. PMID: 19962617.

You can also check out one of CreakyJoints articles on the matter here: https://creakyjoints.org/eular-2023/rheumatoid-arthritis-blood-work-study/

Learn more at ghlf.org/relatable-rheumatology/

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