ANALYTICAL EVALUATION OF ANA, ANTI-CCP AND ANTI-DS DNA ANTIBODIES IN PATIENTS WHO SUFFERED FROM RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS AND ATTENDED IN A TERTIARY CENTER OF NEPAL

Abstract

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis is a heterogeneous group of diseases. Based on the data related to risk factors and autoantibodies, it has been divided into the positive and negative types. The objective of our study was to compare and contrast seropositive and seronegative rheumatoid arthritis in terms of inflammatory markers and autoantibodies.

Methods: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional analytical study and carried out for a period of 9 months between August, 2022 and April, 223, and samples were collected prospectively, in 196 patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. The sera were separated immediately from blood samples and stored in the refrigerator at 4 ⁰C until further investigation. The circulating investigation parameters like inflammatory biomarkers (such as Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive proteins & Rheumatoid factor) and autoimmune assay-based antibodies (like Antinuclear antibodies, Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide & Anti-ds DNA) were included. The results obtained were recorded and data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0.

Results: Highly significant differences (P value < 0.01) were found in mean values of ESR (29.8 vs 42.4 mm/h), CRP (10.2 vs 23.6 mg/dl), RF (2.5 vs 28.4 IU/L), ANA (36 vs 80.6 AU/ml), Anti-CCP (33.5 vs 48.4 IU/ml) and Anti-ds DNA (16.4 vs 32.7 IU/ml). In Group-A of seronegative patients, significant correlation of Anti-ds DNA was found with CRP and RF. Meanwhile, in Group-”B” of seropositive patients, highly significant correlations (P value < 0.01) were found in ESR, CRP & RF. Additionally in this Group-B, both Anti-CCP & Anti-ds DNA correlated significantly (P value < 0.05) with ESR and RF.

Conclusions: Among the clinically important autoimmune antibodies, Anti-ds DNA significantly correlated in both seronegative and seropositive rheumatic patients.