AB1043 CLINICAL OUTCOMES OF ANTI-NUCLEAR ANTIBODY POSITIVENESS IN THE 0-18 AGE GROUP: SINGLE-CENTER REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE

Abstract

Background Anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) assay is important in the diagnosis of autoimmune diseases. However, it has a poor positive predictive value and is detected positive in 10% of general population. In this study, the children that ANA assay was performed in a tertiary pediatric clinic, was evaluated and was aimed to investigate the clinical outcomes in positives. Objectives In this study, the children that ANA assay was performed in a tertiary pediatric clinic, was evaluated and was aimed to investigate the clinical outcomes in positives. Methods 0-18 age group patients that ANA assay was requested in the various clinics of Erciyes University were included. The patients with positive ANA assay and access to hospital records were retrospectively examined. Patients with and without autoimmune disease were identified as group 1 and group 2, respectively. Results The number of patients who required ANA assay in pediatric clinics was 3812. There was a positive ANA assay in 1010 of these patients. The medical records of 909 patients were reached. There were 345 (38%) patients in group 1 and 564 (62%) in group 2. In group 1, female gender was higher compared to group 2 (p Conclusion In our center, which is a tertiary health center, the autoimmune disease was not detected in most of the patients whose ANA assay was positive. The proportion of patients with autoimmune disease was low in most of the commonly requested departments. The ANA assay should be requested after the patient‘s clinical findings are evaluated in detail.