Rheumatoid factor was positive in 27 patients. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate was uniformly elevated with a mean value of 78 ± 5mm/hr. The mean swollen and tender joint count was 14 ± 2. The mean duration of onset at presentation was 5 ☒.6 years, and the mean early morning joint stiffness was 3 ☑.2 hours. The age range was 18 to 65 years with a mean age of 45 ± 6yrs. Thirty-four rheumatoid arthritis patients were diagnosed (F-26, M-8) with a female to male ratio of 3.3:1. Five hundred and two rheumatology patients were seen over a period of three years (July 2013 –June 2016). Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and rheumatoid factor results were documented. The laboratory results for packed cell volume (PCV), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were noted and analyzed. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis were divided into 3 groups rheumatoid arthritis patients without anaemia, rheumatoid arthritis patients with anaemia of chronic disease, and rheumatoid arthritis patients with iron deficiency anaemia. Anaemia was diagnosed based on the packed cell level and laboratory analysis of red blood cell morphology. These were the patients that satisfied the 1987 revised diagnostic criteria of the American College of Rheumatology for the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.
This was a retrospective study of 34 patients diagnosed of rheumatoid arthritis between July 2013 and June 2016. Treatment of the anaemia consists merely of anti-rheumatic treatment. The diagnosis of anaemia of chronic disease is made by exclusion. Patients with active rheumatoid arthritis are more like to be anaemic with a high impact on the quality of life. Both anaemia of chronic disease and iron deficiency anaemia are present in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Anaemic syndrome is a common manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis.
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