Improved Diagnosis For Rheumatoid Arthritis

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Improved Diagnosis For Rheumatoid Arthritis

A DGReview of :"Improvement in Diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis Using Dual Indirect Immunofluorescence and Immunoblotting Assays for Antifilaggrin Autoantibodies: A Retrospective 3 Year Study"02/15/2002Clinical ability to distinguish rheumatoid arthritis from other rheumatic diseases is significantly enhanced by simultaneous use of two different techniques for measuring antistratum corneum and antifilaggrin autoantibodies. This is the finding of a three-year retrospective study in which researchers used an indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) assay, along with a complementary immunoblotting technique (IB) when IIF detection of antistratum corneum (ASC) was negative.Study objective was to determine the clinical usefulness of measuring ASC and AFA to discriminate between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other rheumatic diseases. Participants in the study were 346 patients, all of whom provided sera. This included 189 sera from patients with RA seen in the same clinic, 92 sera from patients with non-RA rheumatic diseases, 24 from patients with non-rheumatic autoimmune diseases and 41 from healthy blood donors. The researchers used IIF to detect ASC and IB to detect AFA. With IIF, ASC detection showed a specificity of 97.5 percent for RA with 44.4 percent sensitivity. When both IIF and IB techniques were used, sensitivity for RA increased significantly (up to 53.4 percent) with no decrease in specificity.These data thus confirm the usefulness of the two different techniques performed simultaneously for detecting ASC/AFA and for discriminating between RA and other rheumatic diseases in clinical practice, these authors conclude. J Rheumatol 2002;29:276-81Visit the International Still's Disease Foundation Websitehttp://www.stillsdisease.org

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Improved Diagnosis For Rheumatoid Arthritis

02/15/2002

By Anne MacLennan

Clinical ability to distinguish rheumatoid arthritis from other

rheumatic diseases is significantly enhanced by simultaneous use of two

different techniques for measuring antistratum corneum and antifilaggrin

autoantibodies.

This is the finding of a three-year retrospective study in which

researchers used an indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) assay, along with

a complementary immunoblotting technique (IB) when IIF detection of

antistratum corneum (ASC) was negative.

Study objective was to determine the clinical usefulness of measuring

ASC and AFA to discriminate between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other

rheumatic diseases.

Participants in the study were 346 patients, all of whom provided sera.

This included 189 sera from patients with RA seen in the same clinic, 92

sera from patients with non-RA rheumatic diseases, 24 from patients with

non-rheumatic autoimmune diseases and 41 from healthy blood donors.

The researchers used IIF to detect ASC and IB to detect AFA.

With IIF, ASC detection showed a specificity of 97.5 percent for RA with

44.4 percent sensitivity.

When both IIF and IB techniques were used, sensitivity for RA increased

significantly (up to 53.4 percent) with no decrease in specificity.

These data thus confirm the usefulness of the two different techniques

performed simultaneously for detecting ASC/AFA and for discriminating

between RA and other rheumatic diseases in clinical practice, these

authors conclude.

J Rheumatol 2002;29:276-81