A comparison of two fixatives on IFA HEp-2 slides for the detection of antinuclear antibodies.

A comparative evaluation of two fixatives on HEp-2 slides that detect antinuclear antibodies via indirect immunofluorescence was undertaken. The sensitivities of these two methods were compared to determine which of the two is more efficient in screening for anti-SS-A (Ro) antibodies. Fixing HEp-2 cells with a pure acetone solution resulted in a 97.5% sensitivity when anti-SS-A (Ro) positive samples were tested while only an 81.3% sensitivity was seen on HEp-2 cells fixed in an alcohol/acetone solution when detecting anti-SS-A (Ro) antibodies. In sera with only anti-SS-A (Ro) antibodies present, the fluorescence was more pronounced on the acetone fixed slides which made it easier to read than the alcohol/acetone fixed slides.