Browse Answers
Click here to submit your rheumatology question.
filter by tag
Answers tagged test: Page 1 of 1
Anna from Port Alberni, BC asks: I really have no symptoms, but my doctor is concerned that I have mixed connective tissue disease because my RNP test is positive. What should I do?
Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) is similar and has some overlap to systemic lupus. By definition, an antibody test called RNP should be positive in MCTD. However, as in many conditions and tests in rheumatology, a positive test does not necessarily diagnose a disease. Conversely, a negative test does not always rule out a disease either. To truly make a diagnosis of MCTD, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or many other rheumatic diseases, your doctor/rheumatologist needs to review your personal history with you, complete a physical examination, review the appropriate tests and put all that information together to make an informed diagnosis.