Question
Karen,

When i took the Blood test , I was taking DYNACIN, "Minocycline HCI Capsules". Does this drug influence the ANA results.


2-  The only result on lab is 1.7 EIA UNITS. No pattern.
Should I ask the lab to give me another report.


Thank You


Bahman

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Followup To
Question -
Hi Karen,

I am 43, Male. I received my blood test results, and I show an ANA 0f 1.7. Per lab anything over 1.00 is positive. I have history of high SEdimentation rate. My skin care physician recommended th etest, because of a little circle on my face that shows hairloss. I have had stiffness in my left side of my neck for the past two years. MRi results show some joint issues.

What should I do next ?  What type of physician should I consult with ?

Thank You


Bahman
Answer -
Dear Bahman,   You need to see a doctor who specializes in "autoimmune diseases".....  Some Rheumatologist do, but most only actually know about arthritis and do not know what or how to go about diagnosing autoimmune diseases such as LUPUS (SLE) or scleroderma etc.....

You need more blood work done since you have a positive ANA blood test... The lab should have also included in the report the pattern of your ANA (speckled, nucleolar etc) and you should have another ANA done since some times there can be a false positive and can also go up and down based on flair-ups of autoimmune diseases.....

Thank you,   karen

Answer
Dear Bahman,   YES, Dynacin which is in the class of tetracyclines CAN cause a false-positive ANA blood test...  This is one of the reason that I suggested that you have another ANA blood test done since a LOT of medications can cause false-positives and false-negative in all types of blood work.....  A doctor should NEVER go by the first blood test especially an ANA blood test....

You should ahve another ANA blood test done AFTER you get of the medication and have been off of it for 10-14 days...

As for the lab, there should have been a pattern type listed....  Qualified labs for doing ANA blood tests list the titer (example 1:70, 1:160 etc) and the pattern (speckled, nucleolar etc).....  Your doctor MUST send your ANA blood work to a lab that specializes in doing this test...

Thank you,   karen