title: [Laboratory diagnostics for systemic sclerosis].
abstract: For systemic sclerosis, laboratory tests can play a supplementary role to clinical investigations, imaging techniques and functional tests. Typical autoantibodies support early diagnosis and help in assigning patients to subgroups of the disease; negative results for antinuclear antibodies suggest exclusion of the diagnosis. To detect organ involvement and comorbidity, the laboratory contributes by clinical chemistry, in certain cases by histopathological findings and by the cytological assessment of broncho-alveolar lavage fluid. Inflammatory parameters are of minor importance. Multiple autoantibody determinations in the course of the disease are not yet helpful. Numerous additional laboratory parameters are of value for investigating pathogenesis, but have not yet been generally introduced into the routine diagnostics of systemic sclerosis.
authors.affiliation: Labor an der Rheumaklinik Aachen, Burtscheider Markt 24, 52066 Aachen. mierau.rmn@t-online.de
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mierau
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roers
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Genth
mesh_terms: D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000639:trends*; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000639:trends; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies