Medical history (history of illness) represents an important component in the diagnosis of polyarthropathy with pain.
Family history
- Are there any diseases of the bones and joints in your family that are common?
Social history
- What is your profession?
- Do you have heavy physical workload in your job?
Current medical history/systemic history (somatic and psychological complaints).
- In which joints do you have complaints?
- Are the affected joints overheated, swollen, and limited in function? [Swelling: infectious arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, arthritis urica (gout), reactive arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus]
- Is it migratory joint pain? [gonorrheic arthritis, Lyme disease, rheumatic fever, sarcoidosis, Whipple’s disease]
- Do you have pain in your joints?
- Start-up and run-in pain?
- Fatigue pain?
- Pain at rest? [Advanced osteoarthritis?]
- Continuous and night pain? [Advanced osteoarthritis?]
- Are joints on one or both sides of the body affected?
- What was the pain history?
- Rapid (hours to a few days)? [Arthritis urica?, joint infection.]
- Slow?
- Was the period of acute pain more than 6 weeks ago? [rheumatoid arthritis?; systemic lupus erythematosus?]
- Are the complaints first-time or recurrent? [recurrent complaints: gout?]
- Do you have any other symptoms, such as joint noises, sensitivity to wetness or cold? [Osteoarthritis.]
- Do you have morning stiffness of more than one hour? [rheumatoid arthritis?]
- Do you suffer from muscle pain?
- Do you have a fever?
- Do you have any other symptoms such as:
- Fatigue?
- Skin rash?
Vegetative history including nutritional history.
- Do you do competitive sports?
- Are you overweight? Please tell us your body weight (in kg) and height (in cm).
- Have you lost weight?
- Do you smoke? If so, how many cigarettes, cigars or pipes per day?
- Do you use drugs? If yes, what drugs and how often per day or per week?
Self history incl. medication history.
- Pre-existing conditions (bone/joint diseases; venereal diseases; inflammatory bowel diseases; rheumatological diseases).
- Surgeries
- Radiotherapy
- Allergies
- Environmental history
- Medication history
