ANA–Indirect Immunofluorescence: A valid diagnostic tool or a vain Immunological exercise?

Sujitha ElanSeralathan; Patricia Anitha K; Shashikala N; Sunil Kumar Nanda

Volume : VII, Issue : VII, July - 2017

ANA–Indirect Immunofluorescence: A valid diagnostic tool or a vain Immunological exercise?

Sujitha Elanseralathan, Patricia Anitha K, Shashikala N, Sunil Kumar Nanda

Abstract :

Antinuclear antibody (ANA) testing is the most common test performed for the diagnosis of autoimmune diseases. Aim of the study: To detect antinuclear antibody positivity, the various patterns and its relationship in different AID clinical conditions. Materials and methods: A five year retrospective analysis of all indirect Immunofluorescence antinuclear antibody test (ANA–IIF), performed between January 2010 and December 2014 was done. Results: Out of the 593 serum samples from suspected AID patients, 77(12.98%) were found to be positive for antinuclear antibodies by IIF. Among the patients positive for ANA by Immunofluorescence, most common clinical conditions were Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (32%), Rheumatoid arthritis (8%) and Scleroderma (4%). The most common patterns among them were speckled (52.87%) followed by homogenous (40.31 %), Centromere (3.66 %), and nucleolar pattern (3.14 %). Conclusion: The detection of ANA by IIF provides an excellent support for the clinical diagnosis and to identify subsets of patterns that are present in a particular autoimmune disease.