Núcleo de Estudos de Doenças Auto-imunes

Sociedade Portuguesa de Medicina Interna
T: (+351) 217 520 570 / Email: info@nedai.org

Usefulness of pleural effusion antinuclear antibodies in the diagnosis of lupus pleuritis

Home/Publicações/Lúpus Sistémico Eritematoso/Usefulness of pleural effusion antinuclear antibodies in the diagnosis of lupus pleuritis

Usefulness of pleural effusion antinuclear antibodies in the diagnosis of lupus pleuritis

C Toworakul, N Kasitanon, W Sukitawut, R Wichinun and W Louthrenoo

We performed this study to determine sensitivity and specificity of pleural effusion antinuclear antibodies (ANA) at a titer of 1 : 160, and the ratio of pleural effusion to serum ANA of 1, to distinguish between pleural fluid from lupus pleuritis and other causes. A prospective study of 54 patients with pleural effusion (12 lupus pleuritis, seven parapneumonic effusion, 26 malignancy-associated pleural effusions, nine transudative effusions) was performed. ANA at a titer of 1 : 160 were found in 11 of 12 lupus pleuritis samples, and in four of 42 pleural effusions from non-systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. The pleural effusion ANA at a titer of 1 : 160 gave a sensitivity of 91.67% for lupus pleuritis, with a specificity of 83.33% when compared with all other pleural effusions, 90.91% when compared with exudative effusion (parapneumonic effusion and malignancy-associated effusion) and 55.56% when compared with the transudative pleural effusion group. Using the ratio of pleural effusion to serum ANA of 1, the sensitivity and the specificity decreased to 75.00% and 78.57%, respectively.

This study provides further evidence that the pleural effusion ANA at a titer of 1 : 160 is a sensitive and specific diagnostic biomarker for lupus pleuritis in patients with lupus. However, pleural effusion ANA can occasionally be found in other conditions. Lupus (2011) 0, 1–5.

Key words: ANA; lupus pleuritis; pleural effusion

Ver artigo completo

2016-07-13T12:41:45+01:00 2011-6-21|Categories: Lúpus Sistémico Eritematoso|Tags: , , |