From the Guidelines
The patient's blood work results indicate a positive ANA screening test, but a negative confirmatory test, suggesting the initial positive result may be a false positive, and their low testosterone level of 52 could be contributing to symptoms like fatigue or decreased libido. The patient's liver function tests show a slightly elevated ALT at 46, indicating minor liver stress, and their other results, including bilirubin and immature granulocytes, are either normal or only slightly outside reference ranges, as noted in the guidelines for managing abnormal liver blood tests 1, which emphasize the importance of determining the cause of liver enzyme elevations rather than simply repeating tests.
- The positive ANA result should be interpreted with caution, as noted in the expert panel's recommendations for the use of anti-dsDNA autoantibodies in the diagnosis and follow-up of systemic lupus erythematosus 1, which suggest that a detailed account of clinical context is necessary to determine the significance of the result.
- The patient's low testosterone level may be a contributing factor to their symptoms, and further evaluation and management of this condition may be necessary.
- The slightly elevated ALT level indicates minor liver stress, and according to the guidelines for managing abnormal liver blood tests 1, a thorough clinical history and targeted clinical examination should be performed to determine the cause of the elevation.
- The patient's other results, including bilirubin and immature granulocytes, are either normal or only slightly outside reference ranges, and do not indicate any significant abnormalities.
From the Research
Blood Work Results
- Your blood work results show that you have a positive ANA test, but a negative ANA IFA test 2, 3.
- This means that while you have antinuclear antibodies present in your blood, the specific patterns associated with certain autoimmune diseases were not detected, and other test results such as testosterone levels, bilirubin, ALT, immature granulocytes, and RH factor are within normal limits or as expected 4, 5, 6.