Rheumatologic diseases in children are an important group of disorders that may lead to severe complications and growth retardation. There are no specific diagnostic tests for rheumatologic diseases, except for anti-nuclear antibody and anti-dsDNA for systemic lupus erythematosus and c-ANCA for Wegener’s disease. Because of, taking a detailed patient’s medical history and performing a good physical examination most probably can provide a diagnosis, and there is no specific test or “test panel” to diagnose or exclude rheumatologic disorders; it is imperative to choose laboratory tests selectively, based on a good clinical knowledge. Another important point is the existence of false positive test results in normal healthy population. In this review, the use laboratory investigations and their importance in diagnosis and follow up of disease in pediatric rheumatology practice has been discussed. J Clin Exp Invest 2013; 4 (2): 443-446
展开▼
