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Antinuclear Antibody (ANA)

Immunology

Sample and container requirements

Serum

Minimum volume required

1mL serum

Special requirements

None

Patient preparation

None

Sample viability

Turnaround time

5 days

Reference range

Results reported as negative, weak positive (1:50), or positive titre (1:100, 1:400, 1:1600, >1:1600)

Clinical guidance

Anti-nuclear antibodies are non-specific and may be associated with a variety of autoimmune (e.g. SLE, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, Sjogren's, myositis) and non-autoimmune (e.g. chronic infection) conditions. They may be used as a preliminary investigation for connective tissue disease and autoimmune liver disease. In some cases other tests, such as anti-dsDNA, ENA, myositis or scleroderma antibodies may be cascaded to provide additional information. Please refer to LabTestsOnlineUK for more information: https://labtestsonline.org.uk/tests/antinuclear-antibody-ana-test

Notes

Images to go here

This information was last updated on 19 August 2026