Negative Anti-C1q Antibody Titers May Influence Therapeutic Decisions and Reduce the Number of Renal Biopsies in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

In a cross-sectional study involving 62 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), we found that patients with biopsy-proven lupus nephritis (LN) had higher titers of anti-C1q antibodies than active SLE without nephritis patients. Anti-C1q was associated with a negative predictive value of 94.59%, a positive predictive value of 52%, a sensitivity of 86.66% and a specificity of 74.47% for the diagnosis of LN. We conclude that high titers of anti-C1q antibodies are strongly associated with the presence of active LN, and the negative predictive value of this test for diagnosing LN is very high; therefore, it can influence therapeutic decisions and reduce the number of renal biopsies in patients with SLE. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base

Anti-C1q, anti-chromatin/nucleosome, and anti-dsDNA antibodies in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus patients (vol 52, pg 971, 2012)

HCFMUSP, Sao Paulo, BrazilHosp Abreu Sodre AACD, Sao Paulo, BrazilHosp Israelita Albert Einstein, Sao Paulo, BrazilHC FMUSP, Dept Pediat, Sao Paulo, BrazilHC FMUSP, Pediat Rheumatol Unit, Sao Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc