Biopsy spleen for RA diagnosis? | Arthritis Information

Since my question is buried in the House thread, I thought I'd bring it out here where more people will see it. On a recent episode of House, they were doing surgery on the patient of the week and one of the docs said he was staying there to "biopsy her spleen to check for rheumatoid arthritis".

I have never heard of anything relating to this before and was wondering....is this a legitimate method for diagnosing RA? And how does that work, what do they see in the spleen that indicates RA? Understandably it's quite an invasive test (at least I would imagine it is), but makes me wonder if there could be more "definitive" diagnostic tests besides a positive RF with correlating symptoms.

As someone who is seronegative (although with corresponding high CRP, sed rate, and symptoms), I always go back to wondering if my diagnosis is correct and whether I am even pursuing the right type of treatment. I would like to think that some definitive tests might be coming in our future.

InnerGlow2009-04-08 11:06:20Hi Innerglow,

I have not heard of that. I know that they will biopsy the spleen (needle biopsy) for malignant lymphoma. I think it helps the oncologists diagnose the type of lymphoma. That is the only time I heard of a splenic biopsy. Interesting question though...Hiking_gal

This is what I found...

Felty's Syndrome
Felty's syndrome is a disorder characterized by rheumatoid arthritis, an enlarged spleen, a decreased white blood cell count, and recurrent infection. People with this syndrome are usually already under treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. Splenectomy (removal of the spleen) may improve the white cell count and the susceptibility to infections.