Value of combined detection of PCA, ANCA, ASCA, AGA and ANA in early diagnosis of Gastrointestinal Diseases

Objectives: To investigate the positive detection rate and clinical application value of anti-parietal cell antibody (PCA), anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA), anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibody (ASCA), anti-gliadin antibody (AGA) and anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) in patients visiting the Department of Gastroenterology. Methods: From January 2015 to June 2018, 1,083 patients receiving detection of PCA and other autoantibodies were selected from the Department of Gastroenterology of Baoding First Central Hospital. The positive detection rate of autoantibodies was statistically analyzed. The enumeration data were expressed as rate or constituent ratio, and the rates were compared between groups using the x2 test. Results: Among the 1,083 patients, the positive detection rate of ANA, ASCA, AGA, PCA and ANCA was 33.52%, 16.71%, 15.51%, 13.66% and 7.66%, respectively. The total positive detection rate was 62.8% (n = 680). Conclusion: The population with abdominal distension, chronic abdominal pain, diarrhea and other digestive system symptoms should be timely treated with combined detection of PCA, ANCA, ASCA, AGA and ANA, which is of important clinical application value for early diagnosis of gastrointestinal diseases and prevention of missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.1.4682 How to cite this:Liu X, Guo D, Li X, Guo Y, Song W. Value of combined detection of PCA, ANCA, ASCA, AGA and ANA in early diagnosis of Gastrointestinal Diseases. Pak J Med Sci. 2022;38(1):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.1.4682 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Clue of Diagnosis for Autoimmune Gastritis

<b><i>Background:</i></b> The diagnostic clues for autoimmune gastritis (AIG) can be classified into 2 categories: endoscopic findings and pathological diagnosis. We believe that research on the AIG detection rate by endoscopists could provide a better understanding of the diagnosis of AIG. This study aimed to clarify the ratio of the endoscopic and the pathological diagnoses of AIG. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We retrospectively reviewed consecutive patients who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). During their first EGD, the gastric mucosa with C2 atrophy or more was biopsied for pathological evaluation based on the updated Sydney system. A gastric biopsy was also performed after <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> eradication, obtaining specimens from at least 2 sites, the greater curvature of the corpus and the antrum. We enrolled patients who were positive for the anti-parietal cell antibody and were diagnosed with AIG, histologically and/or endoscopically. The detection rates of AIG were compared between endoscopic diagnosis and pathological diagnosis. <b><i>Results:</i></b> A total of 10,822 patients underwent EGD during the study period. Finally, 41 patients with AIG were enrolled, leading to an AIG prevalence of 0.38% in this study. As for the clue leading to AIG detection, 31.7% (13/41) were diagnosed through endoscopy (proximal-predominant atrophy), and 68.3% (28/41) were diagnosed pathologically. The AIG detection rate by endoscopists in the posteradication group was significantly lower than in <i>the H. pylori-negative</i> group (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.05). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Endoscopists frequently overlooked AIG, especially in posteradication cases. Pathological assessment using the updated Sydney system after <i>H. pylori</i> eradication might be a promising strategy to detect AIG better.

IDENTIFICATION OF AUTOIMMUNE POLYGLANDULAR SYNDROME TYPE 3 IN PATIENT WITH HYPOTHYROIDISM : A CASE REPORT

Autoimmune polyglandular syndromes (APS) are characterized by sequential or simultaneous deciencies in the function of several endocrine glands that have a common cause. Etiology is most often autoimmune.We report a case of a 40-year-old female with diabetes who presented with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and was later diagnosed with T1D. The patient has had a history of hypothyroidism. The presence of vitiligo was an incidental nding.Laboratory investigations showed low C peptide level, glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) 65 antibodies positive, thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPO) positive, parietal cell antibody positive, and weakly positive antinuclear antibody (ANA), amid normal corticotropin(ACTH), parathyroid hormone (PTH) , vitamin B 12 levels, and a negative intrinsic factor antibody. The patient had a history of hypothyroidism, subsequently developed T1D, and had vitiligobut was overlooked. The case highlights the notable absence of recognizing the need to investigate this patient who presented with more than two endocrine diseases for measurement of hormone levels, autoantibodies against affected endocrine glands and recognition of related symptoms and signs, and hence the signicance of history taking, observation, and maintaining a high degree of suspicion.

A case of early autoimmune gastritis with characteristic endoscopic findings

Significant atrophic gastritis in the fundic gland region is a well-known endoscopic finding observed in autoimmune gastritis (AIG). The endoscopic features of early AIG have not been reported. Iron deficiency, vitamin B12 deficiency, anemia, or neurological symptoms may not be observed in the early stages of AIG, and it may thus be difficult to diagnose early AIG based on clinical findings. We treated a 50-year-old Japanese female whose condition was suspected to be early AIG. The endoscopic findings showed normal gastric pyloric gland mucosa, and diffuse reddened and edematous gastric fundic gland mucosa. Pathologically, local infiltration of lymphocytes and decrease of parietal cells was present in a deep part of the gastric fundic gland mucosa. Blood tests showed that the titer of parietal cell antibody (PCA) was 1:320 and the gastrin level was 820 pg/ml. We determined that the patient had AIG because she also had Hashimoto’s disease, the PCA titer was high, the serum gastrin level was slightly increased, and inflammation was observed only in the gastric body on the endoscopic images. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of endoscopic findings that suggest early AIG, before atrophic changes were observed.