How do you know what stage of arthritis you have. I have seen on the web that you can be at state II, II, III or higher stages. What determines the stages. Do you have to have joint replacements or do you have no response to any treatments to meds.
What determines these stages? Any answers are appreciated.
RA Dx 1996
Meds, Orencia, Folic Acid, Fosamax, Prednisone, Methox
Your physician needs to determine what stage you're at. The need for joint replacement surgery is based on individual needs not based on the stage. Some people may never need replacements and they may be at the same stage as the person who needs the knee replacement. It varies, it's not an exact science and that is what makes it so frustrating to treat. Lindy There are actually 2 classification scales one based on function and one based on well essentially the level of damage in a joint. Most of us fill out a Health Assessment Questionaire (HAQ) at each appt..this score helps determine your functional level with added input for your conversations with your dr.
The stages of joint damage are determined by your x'rays. You can have one joint at stage IV and another at stage I. If your joint is at end stage then depending on which joint then most likely you are a condidate for joint replacement or some other joint surgery. Some people may need replacement at a earlier stage due to pain levels and some people at end stage may choose not to have a replacement because the pain is tolerable.
per the ACR
Classification of Global Functional Status in Rheumatoid Arthritis
| Class I |
Completely able to perform usual activities of daily living (self-care, vocational, and avocational)
|
| Class II |
Able to perform usual self-care and vocational activities, but limited in avocational activities
|
| Class III |
Able to perform usual self-care activities, but limited in vocational and avocational activities
|
| Class IV |
Limited in ability to perform usual self-care, vocational, and avocational activities
|
ACR Classification Criteria for Determining Progression of Rheumatoid Arthritis
*These criteria describe either spontaneous remission or a state of drug-induced disease suppression.
just wanted to add that often the functional status and disease progression scores do not always track...you can have a joint at end stage yet still may be class 2 in functional status or due to pain levels your functional status can be at 4 but your disease progression be at 1
Your functional status is often fluid over the disease course depending on how active the disease is...
buckeye2009-03-15 16:14:31the second one is confusing to me. I have bone erosion and athrophy of tissue but NO osteoporosis.
I would classify myself as class IV moderate..
Next time a commercial comes on tv for enbrel or humira; pay more attention. They say it is prescribed for moderate to severe ra. So if that is true then people who are prescribed those drugs are moderate to severe??????? Despite the "official" guidelines I suspect most doctors use a combination of things to determine disease level. The use your HAQ score, joint count, pain levels, medicarion responsivenes etcThanks Buckey that was good information I'll have to keep that for my files. Thanks again
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