Reply
Leuchten, N.; Bertsias, G.; Smolen, J.; Dörner, T.; Johnson, S.R.; Aringer, M.
Arthritis Care and Research 71(5): 696-697
2019
ISSN/ISBN: 2151-464X PMID: 29579364 Document Number: 576419
Thoughtful and eloquent as always, Drs. Pisetsky and Lipsky in their letter (1) highlight a critical point in the current SLE classification criteria project jointly supported by EULAR and ACR: if ANA positivity is to be the entry criterion, the sensitivity of the assay to detect ANA and that of ANA positivity for SLE are both important. Indeed, this issue has been a matter constantly discussed by the classification criteria steering committee since the beginning of the project. Our tenet is not that various ANA assays are comparable, but that ANA positivity is optimally positioned as an entry criterion for the classification of SLE (2).