Laboratory tests

Despite impressive advances in our understanding of the natural history of the rheumatic diseases and their treatments, there remains much to be learned. The management of most of these diseases is far from satisfactory for either the clinician or patient. There is little distinction between clinical practice and clinical research. How much and what type of data one should collect clearly depends on the setting and on the clinical/research questions being asked. One must ensure that the literature is relevant to his or her practice. The corollary is that research must be derived from a variety of settings, including both the traditional researcher and the traditional clinician.