Incidence of Anticardiolipin antibodies evaluated by ELISA method on Hytec 288

Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (commonly called antiphospholipid syndrome or APS) is an autoimmune disease present mostly in young women. Antibodies that are found in the blood of these patients are called anti-phospholipid autoantibodies (commonly called aPL). Phospholipid antibodies and lupus anticoagulants are found with increased frequency in patients with systemic rheumatic diseases, especially lupus erythematosus. The term antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is used to describe the triad of thrombosis, recurrent fetal loss and thrombocytopenia accompanied by phospholipid antibodies or a lupus anticoagulant. The aCL (anticardiolipin antibodies) assay is only one of the methods used to detect aPL, and the test should be administered with the LA and anti-B2GPI assays. The aCL assay is reasonably sensitive, but not at all specific; therefore, clinicians should treat the clinical state and not an incidentally found antibody. There is an association between antibody titer and risk of thrombosis and this is not a ground for ignoring or not reporting weakly positive results. False-positive results that are difficult to interpret are particularly likely to occur when there are other causes of thrombosis, such as atherosclerosis in the elderly; therefore, screening widely should not be encouraged.