Clinical and laboratory findings in 138 children seen during a ten-year period with a positive antinuclear antibody (ANA) test were reviewed. Two thirds (91 of 138) of the patients had specific autoimmune or rheumatic diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (n = 37), juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (n = 33), Sjögren's syndrome (n = 9), mixed connective tissue disease (n = 7), dermatomyositis (n = 3), and discoid lupus (n = 2). Another 27 patients had symptoms of autoimmune disease but did not fit criteria for specific disorders. Nine patients with IgA deficiency had a positive ANA test but did not have symptomatic autoimmune disease. Ten children had a positive ANA test in association with infections, mainly viral, and one had leukemia. Because most children with a positive ANA test had readily diagnosable autoimmune disorders, pediatric patients with a positive ANA on repeated testing should undergo clinical and laboratory studies for autoimmune or rheumatic disease.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
David S. Chudwin (1983) studied this question.