Diagnosis of Rheumatoid arthritis

Dear Ask The Doctor: Im 56 years old and i got a positive ra titlers result but when tested for ana i got a negative result. What does this mean do i have ra or is it possible i dont have anything wrong with me?

Dear Angel:There is no single clinical sign, x-ray, or blood test that enables a diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) to be made with certainty. Diagnosis is made by typical symptom history of morning stiffness, findings on clinical examination of a symmetrical small joint polyarthritis and rheumatoid nodules, positive laboratory tests and typical x-ray appearances of bony erosions. Rheumatoid factor can be positive in 70 to 80 % of patients with RA, but also 5 to 10 % of healthy individuals. Therefore a positive rheumatoid factor without typical symptom history or clinical examination findings is insignificant, and not diagnostic of Rheumatoid Arthritis.