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Current Rheumatology Research

ISSN: 2693-7204

Original Research Open Access
Volume 5 | Issue 1 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.46439/rheumatology.5.027

Dense fine speckled antinuclear antibody patterns: Clinical correlations and implications

Smarika Sapkota1,*, John Crosson2, Michael D. Evans3, Londyn Robinson4, Adam Lord5, Benjamin Kofoed6, Jerry A. Molitor7
  • 1Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO 80206, USA
  • 2Department of Lab Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
  • 3Biostatistical Design and Analysis Center, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55414, USA
  • 4Division of Rheumatology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
  • 5Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
  • 6Primary Care Track, Department of Internal Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
  • 7Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
+ Affiliations - Affiliations

Corresponding Author

Smarika Sapkota, sapkotas@njhealth.org

Received Date: March 18, 2025

Accepted Date: April 07, 2025

Citation:

 Sapkota S, Crosson J, Evans MD, Robinson L, Lord A, Kofoed B, Molitor J. Dense fine speckled antinuclear antibody patterns: Clinical correlations and implications. Curr Rheumatol Res. 2025;5(1):1-8.


Copyright: © 2025 Sapkota S, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Abstract

Background/Purpose: The significance of Dense Fine Speckled (DFS) pattern Anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) by indirect mmunofluorescence (IIF) is unclear in the existing research. We aimed to investigate associations between positive ANA with DFS pattern and multiple autoimmune and rheumatic conditions. 

Methods: This retrospective study analyzed datasets from patients tested for ANA between August 2017 and August 2019. Comparisons were made between diagnostic categories and diseases for patients with negative ANA, positive ANA (any pattern), and positive ANA with DFS pattern. Relative risk (RR) was calculated for diagnostic categories and individual diseases. 

Results: Of 13,845 ANA results, 65.8% were negative and 34.2% were positive, including 4.6% with DFS pattern. Among ANA positive DFS pattern patients, 10.6% had inflammatory arthritis, 20.6% had fibromyalgia/chronic pain syndrome/chronic fatigue, 13.3% had SARD and only 2.2% had atopic disorder. Comparing ANA positive other patterns and DFS pattern, specific diagnoses like seropositive RA, SLE, SSc, and UCTD were lower among ANA positive DFS pattern. Similarly, diagnoses of Raynaud’s with SSc or UCTD were lower in DFS pattern patients compared to ANA positive with other patterns. The rate of other diagnoses including seronegative RA, IIM, SS, autoimmune thyroid disorder, and autoimmune hepatitis did not differ between other patterns and DFS pattern. 

Conclusion: The presence of DFS pattern cannot indiscriminately exclude the presence of SARD or rheumatic disease, as diagnoses including seronegative RA, IIM, SS, autoimmune thyroid disorder, or autoimmune hepatitis did not differ among ANA positive with other patterns and DFS pattern. 

Keywords

Anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA), Systemic Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases (SARD), Dense fine speckled (DFS) pattern, Anti-DFS70 antibodies

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