Perinuclear Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibodies (P-ANCA) Test

This assay is useful for evaluating patients suspected of having Autoimmune vasculitis, both Wegener's granulomatosis and Microscopic Polyangiitis. Autoantibodies to PR3 ( c-ANCA) occur in patients with classical/limited end-organ involvement Wegener's granulomatosis. Antibodies to MPO (p-ANCA) occur predominantly in patients with Microscopic Polyangiitis. ANCA-P test is a test that detects anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies in your blood. Antibodies are proteins that help in fighting against foreign substances. But ANCA as an anti-neutrophil antibody attacks healthy cells of the body and leads to several disorders. An ANCA test is most often used to find out if you have a type of autoimmune vasculitis. ANCA are of two types that target a specific protein inside white blood cells: ANCA-P- A type of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody that targets a protein called Myeloperoxidase (MPO). ANCA-C- The second type of ANCA targets a protein called Proteinase (PR3). The p-ANCA test can show whether you have one or both types of antibodies and help to diagnose several autoimmune diseases. These immune-mediated diseases cause inflammation, swelling of blood vessels, tissue damage and organ failure and need early detection for treatment. A p-ANCA test helps detect, diagnose and monitor systemic vasculitis (an autoimmune disorder); also, it helps distinguish between the type of IBD (inflammatory bowel disease), either Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. Along with detection, it's also important to interpret the results of the p-ANCA test carefully. In the case of a negative result, your symptoms are probably not the result of autoimmune vasculitis. But, if your test results are positive, you may have autoimmune disorders. Consequently, after diagnosing the autoimmune disorders and p-ANAC testing is positive, there is a need for an additional test like a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis. The doctor will consider your signs and symptoms as well as the results of the laboratory tests and other types of tests, including imaging studies, to confirm the diagnosis of auto-immune disorders. Additionally, the p-ANCA test is also known as the MPO test, where MPO stands for Myeloperoxidase. The p-ANCA test is done if one has a fever, muscle aches and weight loss, impaired kidney or lung function, chronic diarrhoea or abdominal pain. With several studies, 90% of patients are diagnosed positive with microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) in the p-ANCA test. The p-ANCA test detects a positive result in 40% of the cases of Churg Strauss or Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis.