Presence of antikeratin antibodies in patients with rheumatoid arthritis / 中华风湿病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the significance of antikeratin antibodies(AKA) in rheumatoid arthritis(RA). Method Serum samples of 98 patients with RA and 70 rheumatic disease controls were tested by indirect immunofluorescence assay.The diagnostic specificity and sensitivity of AKA were compared with rheumatoid factor(RF). The features of clinical manifestation and lab findings were compared in patients with RA who were positive for AKA with ones who were negative.Results The positive rate of AKA in RA patients was significantly higher than that in rheumatic disease controls.AKA showed a diagnostic specificity of 97.1%, higher than RF.RA patients who were positive for AKA had more active disease as assessed based on clinical, laboratory tests,and radiological variables, as compared with AKA negative patients. Conclusion AKA showes high disease specificity and has prognostic significance in patients with RA.