[Diagnosis in rheumatology; advantages and limitations of diagnostic criteria]

A review was made of advantages and limitations of diagnostic criteria for rheumatic diseases. Most criteria have been elaborated for unifying investigations and reports, although they are often used for diagnosis in individual patients, in clinical sessions or in medical reports. Classification criteria are not synonymous of diagnostic criteria. In medical terms, that a patient meets several classification criteria does not always have the same relevance as diagnostic criteria, but they may serve as initial guidelines for the examination of a given patient.