Arthritis Assessment Check - Arthritis Assessment Package

A laboratory package is used in the initial assessment of arthritis, focusing on measuring non-specific markers of systemic inflammation. These include the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), a non-specific test that reflects the presence of acute-phase proteins in the plasma, which increase during inflammation, causing red blood cells to settle more rapidly. C-reactive protein (CRP), an acute-phase protein produced by the liver in response to inflammatory signals, also rises and falls more rapidly than the ESR. This is complemented by a complete blood count (CBC) to detect chronic anemia associated with chronic inflammatory diseases (chronic disease anemia) and to assess white blood cell count.