Detectie van ANCA in Nederlandse laboratoria: de klinische praktijk in relatie tot de internationale consensus en nationale richtlijn

To gain insight in the laboratory diagnostics performed in the Netherlands for anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA), a questionnaire was sent to all Dutch diagnostic laboratories (n=50) who participate in the Dutch quality assessment (SKML) ANCA-GBM program. Due to the high response (86%), the Dutch situation has been very well documented. The results are summarized in this paper and compared to the International Consensus Statement on Testing and Reporting of ANCA (1999) and the Dutch CBO guidelines on small vessel vasculitis (2010). Major conclusions resulting from the questionnaire are that international and national guidelines are not consequently applied by all labs. However, it should be noted that with the development of new test systems, current guidelines need revision.