Home | Free 14-Day Trial | Tutorial | Help

Arthritis, Rheumatoid

Related Terms

Chronic Inflammatory Arthritis
Proliferative Arthritis
RA
Systemic Arthritis

Differential Diagnoses

Costochondritis
Gout
Hepatitis
Lyme disease
Osteoarthritis
Paraneoplastic syndromes
Polymyalgia rheumatica
Pseudogout
Psoriatic arthritis
Reactive arthritis (previously called Reiter's syndrome)
Sarcoidosis
Scleroderma
Sjögren's syndrome
Systemic lupus erythematosus
Temporal arteritis

Specialists

Emergency Medicine Physician
Infectious Disease Internist
Internal Medicine Internist
Occupational Therapist
Orthopedic (Orthopaedic) Surgeon
Physiatrist
Physical Therapist
Rheumatologist

Comorbid Conditions

Sign-in as a subscriber or take a free trial to see the renowned Reed Group physiological recovery durations in place of this advertising.

Although some individuals have mild symptoms that resolve, most people experience progressive disease over the course of their lifetime. The individual's age, the rate of disease progression, the severity of the disease, which joints and how many joints are involved, organ system involvement, the response to treatment, and the pattern of remissions and exacerbations all affect the length of disability.

New onset cases with today's disease modifying treatment will usually be able to stay at work, while cases with onsets greater than 10 years ago may have enough destructive arthritis to be permanently unable to do heavy work.

Duration Trends from Reference Data

DURATION TRENDS

ICD-9-CM: 714.0

Cases	Mean	Min	Max	No Lost Time	Over 6 Months
917	83	0	434	0.5%	13.3%

Percentile:	5^th	25^th	Median	75^th	95^th
Days:	8	29	63	112	199

Differences may exist between the duration tables and the reference graphs. Duration tables provide expected recovery periods based on the type of work performed by the individual. The reference graphs reflect the actual experience of many individuals across the spectrum of physical conditions, in a variety of industries, and with varying levels of case management. Selected graphs combine multiple codes based on similar means and medians.

Medical Codes

	ICD-9-CM:
	710.2 -	Diffuse Diseases of Connective Tissue, Sicca Syndrome; Sjögrens Disease; Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca (Sicca Syndrome)
	714 -	Rheumatoid Arthritis and Other Inflammatory Polyarthropathies
	714.0 -	Rheumatoid Arthritis; Arthritis or Polyarthritis: Atrophic, Rheumatic (Chronic)
	714.1 -	Feltys Syndrome; Rheumatoid Arthritis with Splenoadenomegaly and Leukopenia
	714.2 -	Other Rheumatoid Arthritis with Visceral or Systemic Involvement; Rheumatoid Carditis
	714.8 -	Other Specified Inflammatory Polyarthropathies
	714.81 -	Rheumatoid Lung; Caplans Syndrome; Diffuse Interstitial Rheumatoid Disease of Lung; Fibrosing Alveolitis, Rheumatoid
	714.89 -	Other Specified Inflammatory Polyarthropathies, Other
	714.9 -	Unspecified Inflammatory Polyarthropathy

Complications

Components of multiple organ systems may be affected by RA including the eyes (dryness, scleritis), lungs (interstitial lung disease, pleuritis, pleural effusions resulting in shortness of breath), blood (anemia), blood vessels (vasculitis), heart (carditis, pericarditis, pericardial effusions), nerves (neuritis, carpal tunnel syndrome), and muscles. Many drug therapies are immunosuppressive and may result in secondary organ involvement, particularly liver conditions. If joints of the cervical spine are affected, individuals may develop sensory loss, severe shoulder and neck pain, abnormal neurological sensations such as numbness (paresthesia), and arm weakness. Depending on how severely the spinal cord is affected, individuals may develop vertigo, fainting episodes, loss of bowel/bladder control or difficulty in swallowing, all of which would require immediate medical intervention. Depression, anger, loss of self-esteem, fatigue, and weight loss are also seldom recognized complications of RA.

Source: Medical Disability Advisor

Feedback
Send us comments, suggestions, corrections, or anything you would like us to hear. If you are not logged in, you must include your email address, in order for us to respond. We cannot, unfortunately, respond to every comment. If you are seeking medical advice, please contact your physician. Thank you!
Send this comment to: Sales Customer Support Content Development




This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is published with the understanding that the author, editors, and publisher are not engaged in rendering medical, legal, accounting or other professional service. If medical, legal, or other expert assistance is required, the service of a competent professional should be sought. We are unable to respond to requests for advice. Any Sales inquiries should include an email address or other means of communication.