Two years ago I began having horrible joint pain and swelling mainly in the fingers, neck, and legs. At one point I had to go (crawl) to the ED. My labs were + Rheumatoid factor, and high sed rate and CRP. Plus, my mother was diagnosed with RA in her early 60's. Now I am a 32 year old male so I am not a typical RA patient.

I had a very negative response to methotrexate and plaquenil (nausea). I then went on infusion therapy with rituximab. My joint pain subsided prior to Rituxan therapy, and afterwards I had little to no joint pain or swelling.

Before being treated with Rituxan I had liver enzyme tests and they came back with elevated LFT's. This concerned my Rheumy as I believe Hep B can cause joint problems and a + Rheumatoid factor. So he then ordered a HBsAg and it came back positive - but the PCR came back negative. Now he has ordered an anti-HBc and PCR quant.

What would these tests indicate? I have had some joint pain in the past few weeks - nothing huge, but in your opinion, given the Sed rate, CPR, + Rheumatoid Factor, and + HBsAg, what does this look like. Please, I would like the honest truth.