Diagnosing ANCA-associated vasculitis in ANCA positive patients: A retrospective analysis on the role of clinical symptoms and the ANCA titre.

Currently no validated diagnostic system for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) is available. Therefore, diagnosing AAV is often challenging. We aimed to identify factors that lead to a clinical diagnosis AAV in ANCA positive patients in a teaching hospital in The Netherlands.

[Benign ethnic neutropenia; an unrecognised cause of leukopenia in negroid patients].

Leukopenia has a high incidence and is usually a reason for additional testing. Benign ethnic neutropenia is a relatively common cause of neutropenia in the negroid population. It can be the cause of aberrant laboratory results in negroid patients.

Evaluation of CD103 as a cellular marker for the diagnosis of pulmonary sarcoidosis.

A high CD4(+)/CD8(+) ratio in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid is indicative for the diagnosis pulmonary sarcoidosis but this ratio only does not fully discriminate pulmonary sarcoidosis from other interstitial lung diseases. Recently, the integrin CD103 has been implicated in the diagnostic evaluation of sarcoidosis. CD103 is expressed on intraepithelial lymphocytes in mucosal areas, including bronchi, and is possibly involved in the retention of lymphocytes to the mucosa.