CHIAO-FENG CHENGLan, Ting YuanTing YuanLanJUI-HUNG KAOCHENG-HSUN LUChang, Yu ChengYu ChengChangYI-MIN HUANGFENG-JUNG YANGChen, Jen HaoJen HaoChenYEN-CHUN LINChuang, Chieh AnChieh AnChuangChang, Chih HuiChih HuiChangKO-JEN LICHIEH-YU SHENSONG-CHOU HSIEH2023-08-102023-08-102023-01-0117561841https://scholars.lib.ntu.edu.tw/handle/123456789/634499Aim: To investigate the relationship between the prevalence of antinuclear antibody (ANA) -associated rheumatic diseases (AARD) and the presence of dense fine speckled (DFS) and homogeneous patterns in ANA tests. Methods: This retrospective study enrolled adult patients with either a DFS or homogeneous pattern in their ANA test. A mixed pattern was defined as the presence of more than one pattern reported in the test. The presence of anti-DFS70 antibodies and other common autoantibodies were detected using EUROLINE ANA Profile 23. A 1:2 propensity score matching was applied to control for demographic and other interfering factors. Results: A total of 59 patients with a DFS pattern were enrolled and compared with a matched homogeneous group. The DFS group had a significantly lower prevalence of AARD (3.4% vs. 16.9%, p =.008) and the subgroup with anti-DFS70 antibodies showed an even lower prevalence (2% vs. 20%, p =.002). Among the 33 patients with monospecific anti-DFS70 antibodies, five had a mixed pattern, and all patients with common autoantibodies had an isolated DFS pattern. Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that patients with a DFS pattern in their ANA test may have a lower prevalence of AARD compared with those with a homogeneous pattern. However, an isolated DFS pattern in ANA testing does not necessarily indicate the presence of monospecific anti-DFS70 antibodies or AARD. Confirmatory testing for the monospecific anti-DFS70 antibody is mandatory to exclude AARD.ANA-associated rheumatic disease | anti-DFS70 antibody | anti-nuclear antibody | dense fine speckled | diagnosisjournal article10.1111/1756-185X.147892-s2.0-85162972594