Clinical Information

Initial ANA screen for autoimmune connective tissue diseases.

1. The initial ANA screen if positive will reflex to a confirmatory ANA Hep2 IFA slide.
2. The Hep2 slide patterns reported include Homogeneous, Speckled, Nucleolar, Centromere, and SSA Ro to a titer of 1:80 through 1:1280. All positive results are reported with endpoint titers.
3. If the ANA Hep2 titer is ≥ 1:160 the following individual antinuclear antibodies will reflex.     *Antibodies to: dsDNA, Smith, RNP, SSA, SSB, Scl 70, Centromere and Jo 1.

*Individual ANA antibodies reflexed at a titer of 1:160 due to more clinical significance.

ANA (antinuclear antibodies) occur in patients with a variety of autoimmune diseases, both systemic and organ-specific. They are particularly common in systemic rheumatic diseases, which include lupus erythematosus (LE), discoid LE, drug-induced LE, mixed connective tissue disease, Sjogren syndrome, scleroderma (systemic sclerosis), CREST (calcinosis, Raynaud phenomenon, esophageal dysmotility, sclerodactyly, telangiectasia) syndrome, polymyositis/dermatomyositis, and rheumatoid arthritis. 

The diagnosis of a systemic rheumatic disease is based primarily on the presence of compatible clinical signs and symptoms. The results of tests for autoantibodies including ANA and specific autoantibodies are ancillary. Additional diagnostic criteria include consistent histopathology or specific radiographic findings.

Some patients without clinical evidence of an autoimmune disease or a systemic rheumatic disease may have a detectable level of antinuclear antibody (ANA). This finding is more common in women than men and the frequency of detectable ANA in healthy women over 40 years of age may approach 15% to 20%. ANA may also be detectable following viral illnesses, in chronic infections, or in patients treated with many different medications.