How to determine if you have psoriatic arthritis 1. Is having psoriasis and having arthritic symptoms psoriatic arthritis? A: Psoriasis patients with inflammatory arthritis can be diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. However, other arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, osteoarthritis, etc., should be excluded first. 2.What is the normal range of blood sedimentation and CRP, and what does it mean when it exceeds the standard? A: Blood sedimentation is usually below 15-20mm/h. C-reactive protein is <8mg/L. C-reactive protein is a diagnostic indicator of bacterial infection and severe tissue damage. Its elevation can be seen in: 1. tissue injury, infection, tumor, myocardial infarction and a series of acute and chronic inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic vasculitis, rheumatic polymyalgia, rheumatism, etc. 2. Indicator of postoperative infection and complications: CRP is elevated in patients after surgery, and the level of CRP should decrease 7-10 days after surgery; if CRP does not decrease or increases again, it suggests possible complications of infection or thromboembolism. 3. It can be used as a differential diagnosis between bacterial and viral infections: most bacterial infections cause elevated serum CRP in patients, while most viral infections are not elevated. 3. Can a positive HLA-B7 and HLA-B27 confirm the diagnosis? A: HLA-B7 and HLA-B27 positive is not necessarily psoriatic arthritis, but should be considered in combination with other laboratory tests and clinical manifestations. 4.Does the CT examination target the painful area, or should it be done on both the sacroiliac joint and the spine? A: CT examination is mainly done for the sacroiliac joint, and whether it is done for the hip joint, lumbar spine, thoracic spine, etc. will be decided according to the condition. 5.How to distinguish psoriatic arthritis from ankylosing spondylitis or rheumatoid arthritis? A: 1. Rheumatoid arthritis Both have small arthritis, but psoriatic arthritis has psoriatic lesions and special nail lesions, finger (toe) inflammation, starting and stopping point inflammation, invasion of distal interphalangeal joints, rheumatoid factor is often negative. Special X manifestations, such as pencil cap-like changes, some patients have spinal and sacroiliac arthropathy, while rheumatoid arthritis is mostly symmetrical small arthritis, with proximal interphalangeal and metacarpophalangeal joints and wrist joints commonly involved. There may be subcutaneous nodules, positive rheumatoid factor, and X-rays are dominated by aggressive joint changes. 2. Ankylosing spondylitis Psoriatic arthritis invading the spine, the spine and sacroiliac joint lesions are asymmetrical and may be "jumping" lesions, often in older men, with mild symptoms, psoriatic lesions and nail changes. In contrast, ankylosing spondylitis has a younger age of onset, no skin or nail lesions, and the spine and sacroiliac joint lesions are often symmetrical.