[Anti-cytoplasmic antibodies in the diagnosis of vasculitis].

Antibodies against cytoplasmic structures of neutrophilic granulocytes and monocytes (ACPA) are highly specific for Wegener's granulomatosis (WG). We found 77 out of 105 patients suffering from clinically and histologically proven WG seropositive for ACPA, whereas only 8 patients out of 123 other vasculitides showed ACPA, too. Of those were 3 cases out of 20 with panarteritis nodosa and 5 patients out of 51 with unclassified systemic vasculitides. About half of the patients showed systemic inflammatory activity with respect to C-reactive protein values above 10 mg/l at time of serum sampling.