RA FACTOR QUALITATIVE

Overview

Rheumatoid factors (RF) are a heterogeneous group of autoantibodies that are associated with the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but can also be found in other inflammatory rheumatic and nonrheumatic conditions. They can also be detected in some healthy individuals 60 years and older. Despite being nonspecific, the detection of RF or anti-citrullinated protein (anti-CCP) antibody, is part of the 2010 diagnosis criterion of the American College of Rheumatology for classification of RA. More than 75% of patients with RA have an IgM antibody to IgG. The titer of RF correlates poorly with disease activity, but those patients with high titers tend to have more severe disease and, thus, a poorer prognosis than do sero-negative patients.