Clinical Information

Presence of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) is a hallmark feature of systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARD). However, ANA lacks diagnostic specificity and is associated with a variety of diseases (cancers, autoimmune, infectious, and inflammatory conditions) and may also occur in healthy individuals in varying prevalence. The lack of diagnostic specificity requires confirmation of positive ANA by more specific serologic tests. All positive patterns are reported to endpoint titers (1:2560).  High-titered ANA is suggestive of connective tissue disease but should not be considered diagnostic. The ANA result should be considered in combination with other serological results as well as the overall clinical history of the patient. Reported patterns may help guide differential diagnosis, although they may not be specific for individual antibodies or diseases. Mitotic staining patterns not reported. Negative results do not necessarily rule out SARD.