Approach to Joint Pain - Arthritis Differential Diagnosis Framework

Inflammatory versus Noninflammatory Pain:

 • Is it inflammatory vs noninflammatory?

 • Inflammation is suggested by warmth, effusion, erythema and WBC >2000 in synovial fluid

 • What is the time course (acute/subacute/chronic)?

 • How many joints are involved (monoarthritis, oligoarthritis, polyarthritis)?

 • Distribution -peripheral vs axial (spine, shoulders, hips) ?

 • Is it symmetric ?

 • Is there a pattern (additive vs migratory vs intermittent) ?

Classification and Differential Diagnosis:

 • Monoarthritis

    - Acute Monoarthritis

    - Chronic Inflammatory Monoarthritis

 • Oligoarthritis

    - Acute Inflammatory Oligoarthritis

    - Chronic Inflammatory Oligoarthritis

 • Polyarthritis

    - Viral Infections

    - Bacterial Infections

    - Chronic Inflammatory Polyarthritis



#Arthritis #Joint #pain #Differential #Diagnosis #MSK #rheumatology