South Beloit, IL
A 42-year-old female asked:
How accurate is a skin biopsy for lupus? can you have a false/ positive test result?
1 doctor answer • 3 doctors weighed in
Dr. Emily Altmananswered
Dermatology 30 years experience
Lupus biopsy: Biopsy of lupus has a number of features that lead to diagnosis: a thickened basement membrane, vacuolar alteration of basal keratinocytes and superficial and deep inflammatory infiltrate. Lupus has a number of different forms in the skin and there are times when it is not easy to differentiate it from other types of skin inflammation. There are other tests to support diagnosis.
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5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. James Davie commented
Pathology 25 years experience
Direct immunofluorescence studies may be performed on a separate skin biopsy to help confirm the results of lupus (which may resemble other inflammatory dermatoses). In addition, serologic studies (blood tests) for anti-nuclear antibodies is also helpful for confirmation. in short, a skin biopsy is only part of multiple criteria that must be satisfied for a diagnosis of lupus.
May 15, 2014
Last updated Apr 2, 2015
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