Autoimmune test question

[Miss]

autoimmune test question

I was told my last bloodwork didn't show anything autoimmune for arthritis or lupus. So now I have some questions.
Is there a specific test for these?
I'm assuming if it was just some sort of general autoimmune test, wouldn't the crohn's show up?
And if there is specific bloodwork for arthritis or lupus then wouldn't they just do that to diagnose crohn's or confirm diagnosis?
Maybe I'm just not understanding what the GI's nurse was talking about. I've had some issues after my remicade treatments so they wanted to rule out lupus and RA.
Help.

Thanks,

Miss

 

[drew_wymore]

It was probably the ANA (anti nuclear antibody) test which is commonly used to diagnose Lupus and other autoimmune disorders but not Crohn's. There is a test but its not perfect, called the Prometheus Panel that is used when looking for Crohn's and UC.

 

[dayng1016]

Yes the ANA is a general test for lupus, but there are others that are specific to lupus and arthristis. The one for rheumatoid arthritis is the rheumatoid factor. The one's for lupus would be the anti-sm, anti-dna (double stranded dna). Usually the doctor can order an ANA comprehensive blood test and you will get the anit-sm, anti-ra, SS-A and I believe the SS-B (these two if positive are mostly in sjogrens). I don't believe though the double stranded dna is included, that would have to be ordered separate. I hope this helps.

 

[Colt]

The ANA test is not conclusive for lupus one way or the other. It's a screening test to get you to look deeper at the issue. I may have the numbers wrong because it's too close to my bed time to go looking it up but about 20% of the general population are positive for ANA. About 50% of lupus patients test positive for ANA. Any doctor who thinks they've proved that you don't have lupus (or that you do) because of an ANA result alone needs a swift kick to the sensitive bits.

Rheumatoid Factor is pretty much the same though it is bit more accurate. You'd be shocked how many RF tests I draw in a day. Generally anyone with joint pain gets one. The large majority of the people getting them are quite old and they've probably got about a 90% chance of it just being osteoarthritis but it doesn't matter. Like ANA it's supposed to be a screening test to help you recognize a higher risk worthy of investigation.

 

[drew_wymore]

I've also had the HLA-B27 test which is testing for auto immune linked diseases.