The incidence of immunofluorescence patterns and specific autoantibodies observed in autoimmune patients in a tertiary care centre.

Summary: Objectives: Testing for antinuclear antibodies (ANA) facilitates the diagnosis of autoimmune diseases (ADs). Here, we report an incidence of ANA positivity and its patterns by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) and specific autoantibodies through immunodot assay. Methods: Sera from 993 patients presenting with various ADs were tested by IIF and immunodot assay. Results: ANAs were detected in 39.7%, of which speckled pattern was predominantly observed (50.8%). 56.8% of samples were positive on the immunodot assay with SSA Ro 60 antibody being the most prevalent (30.7%). Discussion: A significant correlation (p minor 0.0001) was observed between patterns and auto-antibodies. Coarse speckled (CS) and homogeneous were overly represented by antibodies SSA Ro 60 (13%) and nucleosomes (5.8%) respectively. Mi-2, PL-7, PL-12, and SP-100 were the rarest autoantibodies specificities found. Conclusions: The presence of a particular IIF pattern is predictive of a specific autoantibody in the sample. Association of IIF patterns and specific autoantibody are relevant for a more accurate diagnosis of disease.