What is an ANA Test?

The ANA test, or Antinuclear Antibody Test, is an ANA blood test that examines your blood for antinuclear antibodies. They attack the nucleus of your cells and cause inflammation in the joints, skin, or organs. The majority of individuals desire to know what is ANA test since they probably have autoimmunity issues.

Your doctor usually refers you for the ANA test if he or she desires to screen for such diseases as lupus or scleroderma. But an abnormal result on the ANA test doesn't necessarily mean that you have such a disease, only that you do have these antibodies. Even healthy individuals test positive ANA at low titers. This is why interpretation of ANA test results is paramount, your physician will consider pattern, titer, and clinical context.

Why is ANA Test Performed?

The ANA test for autoimmune disease is ordered when your doctor suspects your immune system to be targeting normal tissues. Sore joints, ongoing fatigue, unexplained rash, and fever are typical symptoms that prompt an ANA test. Your physician may also request that you have an ANA test and lupus screen simultaneously, particularly if you have exhibited photosensitivity, alopecia, or nephritis. Knowing how to time an ANA test can hasten diagnosis, particularly in cases with a pre-existing family history of autoimmunity.

Apart from lupus, other autoimmune disease ANA test is helpful in diagnosing other connective tissue disease such as mixed connective tissue disease and polymyositis. ANA test positive means that further workup is likely to be needed to decide on the actual cause.

How to prepare for an ANA Test

You don't need much ANA test preparation. As opposed to some other tests, you don't need to fast before an ANA blood test. Simply drink water and roll up your sleeves so that the phlebotomist can easily reach your vein.
Prior to your ANA test procedure, tell your physician if you are taking medications currently, some of them will give a false-positive result for ANA. Hydralazine, procainamide, and certain anti-seizure medications are a few of them. If you've been taking them regularly, tell them beforehand because they affect the ANA test accuracy.

ANA Test Procedure

The ANA test procedure is very simple. It merely takes a few minutes:

  • A technician will take a swab of your skin in the crook of your elbow or on the bottom of your hand.
  • He or she will insert a tiny needle into a vein and draw out a vial of blood.
  • The test is stamped and mailed to a laboratory, which tests it for antinuclear antibodies.
  • The laboratory searches for configurations of types of ANA patterns, i.e., homogenous, speckled, nucleolar, and centromere, using a microscope.
Your results will be sent back to your physician, in the form of a titer number (e.g., 1:80 or 1:160) and a pattern. Higher titers and certain patterns help interpret ANA test results.


What to Expect After the ANA Test?

After your ANA test process is finished, you can return to your normal routine right away. The skin where you were punctured may be a little tender, and there may be some bruising, again, nothing to worry about.
Your ANA test results will be reported back to you in a few days. The interpretation of the ANA test will be called by a doctor or nurse and inform you whether or not the results are significant to you.

If your abnormal ANA result requires additional workup, your physician will have you get other special studies such as the ENA panel or refer you to a rheumatologist. If the test is negative but your nagging symptoms continue, typically ANA test negative but symptoms persist, your physician may search for other issues or have you retest it later.

Reading ANA Test Results

Your outcome will show the ANA test normal range, typically expressed in titer form, e.g., less than 1:40. An elevated ANA test is the same as or higher than this, 1:160 or higher being noteworthy.

ANA test results interpretation, of course, relies on various considerations. Low-positive test can be seen in normal patients, particularly with advanced age. Thus, doctors consider the whole clinical setting, certain ANA pattern types, and occurrence of other autoantibodies (by the ENA test).

If you present with inexplicable arthralgias and rashes or fevers and an ANA titer of 1:320 with a speckled pattern, your doctor will likely suspect the diagnosis of mixed connective tissue disease or lupus. A result of 1:80 on a low-positive ANA without symptoms is generally very minor.

Conditions Diagnosed by ANA Test

Autoimmune disease ANA test can indicate many serious diseases:

  • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) — a very frequent cause of a positive ANA test
  • Scleroderma — particularly if with nucleolar pattern
  • Sjögren's Syndrome — often disclosed by speckled ANA and confirmed by ENA tests
  • Mixed Connective Tissue Disease (MCTD) — with high titers of anti-RNP antibody
  • Myositis and dermatomyositis — muscle and skin inflammation
Your physician will also order tests such as the ENA test vs. ANA test to detect particular autoantibodies such as anti-SSA, anti-SSB, or anti-Smith that aid in these diagnoses.

ANA Test vs. ENA Test

Physicians prescribe tests such as the ANA test vs. ENA test when a more specific diagnosis is needed. The ANA test is a general screen for autoimmunity, and the ENA panel tests separate antibodies such as anti-Ro, anti-La, anti-Sm, and anti-Scl-70.

That leaves an ANA test vs. ENA test comparison, the ANA will alert you to some autoimmunity, and the ENA will tell you what the target is. These are tests which will be ordered in sequence by physicians together to make a diagnosis.

ANA Test Cost

ANA test cost can differ according to the lab and area. ANA test price in Pakistan will be PKR 3,000 to PKR 5,000 depending on the lab and whether you are taking panels such as ENA or anti-dsDNA or not. The tests become coverable by health insurance if medically necessary.

Book lab tests from the best-certified labs in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, and all major cities of Pakistan through InstaCare, and get a discount of up to 35%. For assistance, call our helpline at 03171777509 to find the right lab test for your health needs.