Diagnosis
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis can be really difficult to diagnose, as there is no single test to ascertain and confirm the disease. It is therefore expected that you take your child to visit a medical professional who will now perform a physical examination of the child and also check for health history. The disease is based on the symptoms of inflammation [5] that might have taken place within a period of 6 weeks. Various tests are to be carried out, and these tests include:
- Complete Blood Count: By performing this test, it helps to check for conditions where there may be low counts of white blood cells, platelets, and red blood cells.
- Rheumatoid Factor: For people who have rheumatoid arthritis or any other rheumatic disease, there is an antibody that is found in their blood and it is known as RF. This particular test is used to check to determine if there is the presence of RF in the blood.
- Hematocrit: This test measures the amount of red blood cells present in a given blood sample. People with inflammatory and rheumatic diseases are known to have a relatively low level of red blood cells.
- Antinuclear antibody test: This test is used to measure blood levels of antibodies that are mostly present in people with rheumatic disease.
- White Blood Cell Count: the presence of white blood cells in the body needs to be checked appropriately. A high level of white blood cells in the blood may indicate the possibility of an infection, while a low level of white blood cells may be an actual sign of certain rheumatic diseases.
Various other tests that may be considered include the urine tests; whereby blood and protein are checked for in the urine, meaning the kidney might not be functioning properly, the joint aspiration [6], and a full eye examination, which is to be done by an ophthalmologist.