Gli anticorpi antinucleari nelle malattie reumatiche sistemiche = Antinuclear antibodies in systemic rheumatic diseases

Anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) testing needs to be used accordino to guidelines in order to correctly apply its results to the clinical diagnosis of connective tissue diseases. The detection of distinct specificities of ANA is included in the classification criteria of some connective tissue diseases, furthermore some of them can be considered as markers of single diseases or clinical subsets. For these reasons ANA testing is widely used both in the general practitioners, clinical approach and in specialty medicine diagnostic procedure. The pitfall in ANA testing is mainly due by specificity and sensitivity; these limits, together with the evaluation of the detection technique and of the kit manifacturing, are important factors to be evaluated for the correct interpretation of the results.