CASE 27: JOINT PAINS
History
A 38-year-old woman presents to her general practitioner (GP) complaining of pains in her
joints. She has noticed these pains worsening over several months. Her joints are most stiff
on waking in the mornings. The joints that are most painful are the small joints of the
hands and feet. The pain is relieved by diclofenac tablets. She feels tired and has lost 4 kg
in weight over 3 months. She has had no previous serious illnesses. She is married with two
children and works as a legal secretary. She is a non-smoker and drinks alcohol only occa-
sionally. Her only medication is diclofenac.
Examination
On examination she looks pale and is clinically anaemic. Her proximal interphalangeal
joints and metacarpophalangeal joints are swollen and painful with effusions present. Her
metatarsophalangeal joints are also tender. Physical examination is otherwise normal.
NormalHaemoglobin 8.9 g/dL 11.7–15.7 g/dL
Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) 87 fL 80–99 fL
White cell count 7.2% 109 /L 3.5–11.0% 109 /L
Platelets 438 % 109 /L 150–440% 109 /L
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) 78 mm/h !10 mm/h
Sodium 141 mmol/L 135–145 mmol/L
Potassium 3.9 mmol/L 3.5–5.0 mmol/L
Urea 6.9 mmol/L 2.5–6.7 mmol/L
Creatinine 125 &mol/L 70–120&mol/L
Glucose 4.6 mmol/L 4.0–6.0 mmol/L
Albumin 33 g/L 35–50 g/LUrinalysis: no protein; no blood; no glucoseINVESTIGATIONS
Questions
- What is the diagnosis and what are the major differential diagnoses?
- How would you investigate and manage this patient?