[Presence of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) and anti Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCA) among patients with ulcerative colitis].

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease is supported by clinical findings and complementary tests. The presence of specific serological markers could be helpful in the characterization of this condition.

AIM: To assess the prevalence of ANCA and ASCA in a group of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and its association with clinical features.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty four patients with UC in remission (age range 16-72 years, 33 males) were studied. In a venous blood sample ANCA were measured by indirect immunofluorescence and ASCA by enzyme immune assays for IgG and IgA.

RESULTS: Forty four percent of patients were positive for ANCA, 9% for ASCA and 6% for both markers. There was a significant correlation between the presence of ANCA and duration of the UC (<5 years 50%, 5-10 years 42.9%, 15 years 30%) and the number of crises (one crises 31%, 2-5 crises 51.9% and >5 crises 87.5). The proportion of colectomized patients with positive ANCA was higher (57.1%).

CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of ANCA in the studied population is similar to the published data. The presence of ANCA was significantly higher in UC patients with shorter evolution, higher number of crises and in those with a history of colectomy. There was a low prevalence of ASCA positive patients.