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What Do These Raised ANA Levels During 7 Months Of Pregnancy Indicate?
Question: Hello Dr,
This is related to my wife.She is almost 7.5 Months pregnant , 31 years old and recently we did the below routine test as suggested by our gynaec :
ANTINUCLEAR ANTOBODY /ANA FACTOR (ANA/ANF) SERUM, ==116.9 UNITS (Bio Ref = 20.00) .
I Know there is something abnormal in the test .Can you please let me know how fatal this report is and What are the precautionary measures and shall we go ahead with the measure at this time?
Wife has no history of Jaundice and Tested negative for XXXXXXX Disease,Hepatitis A,B,C and have shown strong signs of immunity (haven't fallen sick,or cold or cough etc throughout her life by Gods Grace)
Moreover she has gone through the Fibroscan and everything is confirmed to be normal.
Please provide your useful comments.
Many Thanks in advance.!
This is related to my wife.She is almost 7.5 Months pregnant , 31 years old and recently we did the below routine test as suggested by our gynaec :
ANTINUCLEAR ANTOBODY /ANA FACTOR (ANA/ANF) SERUM, ==116.9 UNITS (Bio Ref = 20.00) .
I Know there is something abnormal in the test .Can you please let me know how fatal this report is and What are the precautionary measures and shall we go ahead with the measure at this time?
Wife has no history of Jaundice and Tested negative for XXXXXXX Disease,Hepatitis A,B,C and have shown strong signs of immunity (haven't fallen sick,or cold or cough etc throughout her life by Gods Grace)
Moreover she has gone through the Fibroscan and everything is confirmed to be normal.
Please provide your useful comments.
Many Thanks in advance.!
Brief Answer:
need dome details to conclude better.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Welcome to HCM,
I can understand your concerns,
I need some details before giving my suggestion-
1.why did your doctor advise this test as ANA testing is not a routine test?
2.Does she has any symptoms like flushing of face, joint pain, etc?
3.Is there any family history of auto-immune disease?
4.Is there any history of abortion?
Hope to hear from you soon.
Thanks.
need dome details to conclude better.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Welcome to HCM,
I can understand your concerns,
I need some details before giving my suggestion-
1.why did your doctor advise this test as ANA testing is not a routine test?
2.Does she has any symptoms like flushing of face, joint pain, etc?
3.Is there any family history of auto-immune disease?
4.Is there any history of abortion?
Hope to hear from you soon.
Thanks.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vaishalee Punj
Hello Dr,
Thanks for the reply .
I forget t mention my wife is feelnig itchy and feels like scratching most of the time on hands(palms,elbow) and legs though controllable.Doc said this is normal.
Also her SGOT and SGPT came out to be 106 and 182 respectively where Bio.Ref is < 35
Also on fasting the result of SGOT = 210 and SGPT = 298 where Bio ref is < 35
Then the bilirubin level we also tested and it came like this :
Test Name result unit bio ref
Bilirubin total 1.21 mg/DL 0.30 -1.20
Bilirubin direct 0.56 mg/DL <0.20
Bilirubin Indirect 0.65 mg/DL <1.10
Ceruloplasmin Serum 48.90 mg/DL 20.00 - 60.00
Below are the answers to your Qs :
2.Does she has any symptoms like flushing of face, joint pain, etc?
>No .Only itching from past few weeks(2-3)
3.Is there any family history of auto-immune disease?- No.She has never suffered any illness or sickness as far as I remember.No cold, cough, viral or any fever.
4.Is there any history of abortion?
No.
Also Her fetal movements are normal.
Thanks for the reply .
I forget t mention my wife is feelnig itchy and feels like scratching most of the time on hands(palms,elbow) and legs though controllable.Doc said this is normal.
Also her SGOT and SGPT came out to be 106 and 182 respectively where Bio.Ref is < 35
Also on fasting the result of SGOT = 210 and SGPT = 298 where Bio ref is < 35
Then the bilirubin level we also tested and it came like this :
Test Name result unit bio ref
Bilirubin total 1.21 mg/DL 0.30 -1.20
Bilirubin direct 0.56 mg/DL <0.20
Bilirubin Indirect 0.65 mg/DL <1.10
Ceruloplasmin Serum 48.90 mg/DL 20.00 - 60.00
Below are the answers to your Qs :
2.Does she has any symptoms like flushing of face, joint pain, etc?
>No .Only itching from past few weeks(2-3)
3.Is there any family history of auto-immune disease?- No.She has never suffered any illness or sickness as far as I remember.No cold, cough, viral or any fever.
4.Is there any history of abortion?
No.
Also Her fetal movements are normal.
Brief Answer:
Itching is physiological in pregnancy.
Detailed Answer:
Hi again.
Sorry for the late response.
Itching during pregnancy is mostly physiological. This is due to accumulation of bile salts.
Her liver function tests are also deranged. So, I would suggest drug UDILIV after consulting with doctor.
Now regarding Raised ANA, This does not mean that she has or will develop a serious autoimmune reaction, but it can mean that the immune system has the potential to develop antibodies against a developing fetus, a situation that in the absence of treatment could result in the ending of the pregnancy.
These treatments in such cases include the steroid prednisone, aspirin or the drug heparin.
Before that, she should go for immunofluorescence based tests in case ANA is coming positive with ELISA (to rule out false-positive results).
Kindly discuss this with your doctor.
Hope this helps.
Feel free to ask further.
Thanks.
Itching is physiological in pregnancy.
Detailed Answer:
Hi again.
Sorry for the late response.
Itching during pregnancy is mostly physiological. This is due to accumulation of bile salts.
Her liver function tests are also deranged. So, I would suggest drug UDILIV after consulting with doctor.
Now regarding Raised ANA, This does not mean that she has or will develop a serious autoimmune reaction, but it can mean that the immune system has the potential to develop antibodies against a developing fetus, a situation that in the absence of treatment could result in the ending of the pregnancy.
These treatments in such cases include the steroid prednisone, aspirin or the drug heparin.
Before that, she should go for immunofluorescence based tests in case ANA is coming positive with ELISA (to rule out false-positive results).
Kindly discuss this with your doctor.
Hope this helps.
Feel free to ask further.
Thanks.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Shanthi.E
Hello Dr,
No problem, Thanks for the response.What I can summarize is that the HIGH ANA could be one of the rarest symptom of Pregnancy and trust everything will return to Normal after delivery.
Our gynaec basically asked us to take the Opinion of the Gastro'ist and hence all these tests.
Gastro'ist on seeing the reports and doing the fibroscan arrived at a conclusion that whatever is to be done(steroids,treatment..) that should be done after the delivery and we should visit the Gastroentologist post 3-4 months after delivery (after mother start feeding the baby for some-time) and not now and our Gynaec too agree on this and didn't raise any alarm.
Now I am dubious that if everything is really wrong or not?Trust everything is fine and its just the effect of pregnancy.
We are monitoring the fetal movements daily as well and will go for Ultra Sound in 2 weeks.She has started taking UDILIV-150.
Let me know your opinion on the severity of this for the MOTHER in long run post Delivery based on the above information or is it the severity for the baby only during this period ?
Many thanks in advance !
No problem, Thanks for the response.What I can summarize is that the HIGH ANA could be one of the rarest symptom of Pregnancy and trust everything will return to Normal after delivery.
Our gynaec basically asked us to take the Opinion of the Gastro'ist and hence all these tests.
Gastro'ist on seeing the reports and doing the fibroscan arrived at a conclusion that whatever is to be done(steroids,treatment..) that should be done after the delivery and we should visit the Gastroentologist post 3-4 months after delivery (after mother start feeding the baby for some-time) and not now and our Gynaec too agree on this and didn't raise any alarm.
Now I am dubious that if everything is really wrong or not?Trust everything is fine and its just the effect of pregnancy.
We are monitoring the fetal movements daily as well and will go for Ultra Sound in 2 weeks.She has started taking UDILIV-150.
Let me know your opinion on the severity of this for the MOTHER in long run post Delivery based on the above information or is it the severity for the baby only during this period ?
Many thanks in advance !
Brief Answer:
fetal monitoring is must.
Detailed Answer:
I understand what you are going through right now.
The fear which raised ANA generates is the risk of cardiac anomalies in fetus and chances of miscarriage.
For this, you and your gynec are regularly monitoring the fetus with ultrasound scans.
As everything has gone well till now, I think there should not be any problems in future as well.
Yes, there are chances of false positive ANA in pregnancy. So, you should wait till delivery.
As far as long term outcome of this is concerned, if the values settle down with delivery and there are no other symptoms, I do not think there is much risk to mother as well.
So, keep in regular touch with your gynec.
I hope all goes well and the mother and baby stay healthy.
Kindly close the discussion if you have no more queries and give your valuable feedback.
Thanks.
fetal monitoring is must.
Detailed Answer:
I understand what you are going through right now.
The fear which raised ANA generates is the risk of cardiac anomalies in fetus and chances of miscarriage.
For this, you and your gynec are regularly monitoring the fetus with ultrasound scans.
As everything has gone well till now, I think there should not be any problems in future as well.
Yes, there are chances of false positive ANA in pregnancy. So, you should wait till delivery.
As far as long term outcome of this is concerned, if the values settle down with delivery and there are no other symptoms, I do not think there is much risk to mother as well.
So, keep in regular touch with your gynec.
I hope all goes well and the mother and baby stay healthy.
Kindly close the discussion if you have no more queries and give your valuable feedback.
Thanks.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vaishalee Punj
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