Anticentromere antibodies--clinical correlates.

We tested 11,594 consecutive sera for antinuclear antibodies and 1,502 were found to be positive; 68 patients (72 sera) had anticentromere antibodies. A retrospective analysis of the clinical characteristics and diagnoses of patients found to have anticentromere antibodies were correlated and showed a diverse array of findings. The association of anticentromere antibodies and the CREST variant of scleroderma may be less specific than originally thought when used as a screening test in an unselected population with rheumatic disease. Anticentromere antibody was present in patients with drug induced lupus, a finding not previously reported.