The human immune system is designed to protect against toxins, viruses and pathogens, so it always reacts to the ingress of foreign particles into the blood.
To determine this reaction, as well as to identify the "enemy" attacking the body and take appropriate measures, the complex of studies, one of which is called the blood test for rheumatoid factor( RF, rheumatoid factor), helps to understand what it is and what diseases it shows.
What is the
indicator? The revominator refers to the particles that fallin the blood of a person from the joints affected by certain diseases. Under their influence, antibodies produced by predominantly with immunoglobulins M are produced in the body.
They are aimed at fighting their own antibodies, with immunoglobulins G , resulting in a pathological process in the joints, tissues and vessels that can lead to serious disorders. Identify these particles can be in the laboratory using an appropriate analysis.
Rates in adult women and men
In the blood of a healthy person, this type of antibody is not detected by the , but there are assumptions that are considered the norm variants.
It primarily depends on the age of the patient: in adults is considered to be normal values from 0 to 14 IU / ml or 10 U / ml( depending on the measurement values used in the laboratory), the older the person, the higher the RF level.
The significance of the increase in the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases
It should be noted that a change in the RF titer can not be the only diagnostic sign of any pathology. In such cases, the doctor directs the patient to additional studies, which are designed to identify the ailment with great accuracy.
Most of the cardiovascular system dysfunction, which is accompanied by an increased rheumatoid factor in the blood, is a consequence of rheumatoid arthritis( with this disease the RF rises more often).These include:
-
Pericarditis. In the case of acute pericarditis, the patient feels pain in the sternum, giving in the back and left shoulder, there may be swelling of the legs, tachycardia.
The blood test reveals an elevated RF level, a high ESR in the blood( 55 mm / h and more), and in the presence of pericardial exudate( exudative pericarditis) - a high content of LDH and protein in combination with a low glucose level.
- Rheumatic myocarditis. Pathology is associated with extraarticular manifestations, high levels of RF, anti-nuclear antibodies and symptoms of systemic vasculitis.
- Heart defects .With prolonged course of erosive rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatic heart defects can develop in patients. Usually they occur without any clinical manifestations, and the main signs in this case are extraarticular manifestations and a high titer of this indicator.
Other reasons if the level is elevated
A high level of rheumatoid factor in the blood of patients is determined for other reasons:
- Rheumatoid arthritis .With this disease, this indicator increases in the vast majority of cases - approximately in 80% of patients. It is by the level of the rheumatophagor that the form of the disease( seropositive, seronegative) can be determined, and the dynamics of the flow is observed from its changes.
- Autoimmune diseases .This is primarily Sjogren's syndrome, which is a disorder affecting the joints, lacrimal and salivary glands. In addition, RF is found in systemic lupus erythematosus, Bechterew's disease, polymyositis, scleroderma, vasculitis, Raynaud's syndrome, thyroiditis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, etc.
- Infectious diseases .These include tuberculosis, borreliosis, malaria, syphilis, mononucleosis.
- Granulomatous pathologies .This category includes diseases in which granulomas form in different organs - for example, pneumoconiosis, sarcoidosis and Wegener's disease.
- Cancer of the .Elevated titer RF is observed in patients diagnosed with macroglobulinemia - a bone marrow tumor, which most often consists of lymphocytes.
- Inflammatory processes of , localized in the liver, lungs, kidneys and musculoskeletal tissues.
Children's rheumatic factor
In children, the valid values for are not more than 12.5 U / ml.
In children, this indicator sometimes speaks of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, a disease that is characteristic of patients under the age of 16 years.
However, the titre of the RF in this case increases only in 20% of children under 5 years old and in 10% to 10 years of .Also, the RF can increase in often ill children who have recently undergone viral or infectious diseases, as well as those who suffer from chronic infections, helminthic invasions, etc.
How is the analysis of the RF
The essence of the study is that if there is a rheumatoid in the blood serum, it will react with certain antibodies. To conduct the analysis, , the patient is taken a sample of venous blood, and previously he must comply with the following rules :
- not eat for 8-12 hours;
- not drink tea, coffee, juices( only pure water is allowed);
- to quit smoking for at least 24 hours;
- a day before the analysis to exclude from the diet fatty and fried foods, as well as alcohol;
- not to engage in heavy physical exertion;
- if possible, it should be for a week or two to cancel taking medications( otherwise, you need to take the test before taking the medication and tell the doctor what kind of remedy and how much is used in this case).
What to do if you have a high level of RF in your blood? First of all, does not panic and seek the advice of specialist , which will direct you to other studies to make an accurate diagnosis.
