Summary
A retrospective survey of all patients with a positive anticentromere antibody (ACA) determination was undertaken over a 3-years period of time in a university hospital. Forty-five patients were positive for anticentromere antibodies. The analysis of the clinical characteristics and diagnoses of the patients with anticentromere antibodies were correlated and showed a diverse array of symptoms. Only 4.4% had CREST syndrome, 6.7% had limited scleroderma, 17.8% had diffuse scleroderma, 20% had other connective tissue diseases, 20% had other miscellaneous rheumatic conditions, 11.1% had tumours and 20% other nonrheumatic diseases. The study shows that the presence of ACA, as detected during routine ANA-testing, does not strongly suggest a diagnosis of CREST at that time. The presence of a scleroderma-variant in almost 50% of the patients and the occurrence of Raynaud's phenomenon in 62% underscores, however, an association of ACA with (early) scleroderma-like disorders.
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Zuber, M., Gotzen, R. & Filler, I. Clinical correlation of anticentromere antibodies. Clin Rheumatol 13, 427–432 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02242937
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02242937