Evaluation of serological markers to differentiate between ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease: pANCA, ASCA and agglutinating antibodies to anaerobic coccoid rods

Abstract

The value of these serological tests in differentiating ulcerative colitis from Crohn's disease is limited when used separately but, by combining two or more tests, the positive predictive value and specificity can be improved substantially. These tests might be of help in studying disease heterogeneity, and may contribute to defining various subgroups of patients with different pathogeneses.