Test ID AASCA Saccharomyces cerevisiae Antibody, IgA, Serum
Useful For
Helping clinicians distinguish between ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease in patients suspected of having inflammatory bowel disease
Method Name
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)
Reporting Name
Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ab, IgA, SSpecimen Type
SerumContainer/Tube:
Preferred: Serum gel
Acceptable: Red top
Specimen Volume: 0.5 mL
Specimen Minimum Volume
0.4 mL
Specimen Stability Information
Specimen Type | Temperature | Time |
---|---|---|
Serum | Refrigerated (preferred) | 21 days |
Frozen | 21 days |
Clinical Information
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) refers to 2 diseases, ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), that produce inflammation of the large or small intestines.(1) The diagnoses of both diseases are based on clinical features, the results of barium X-rays, colonoscopy, mucosal biopsy histology, and in some cases operative findings and resected bowel pathology and histology.
Recently, patients with IBD have been shown to have antibodies in serum that help distinguish between CD and UC.(2) Patients with UC often have measurable neutrophil-specific antibodies, which react with as yet uncharacterized target antigens in human neutrophils; whereas, patients with CD often have measurable antibodies of the IgA and/or IgG isotypes, which react with cell wall mannan of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain Su 1.
Reference Values
Negative: ≤20.0 U
Equivocal: 20.1-24.9 U
Weakly positive: 25.0-34.9 U
Positive: ≥35.0 U
Reference values apply to all ages.
Cautions
IBDP / Inflammatory Bowel Disease Serology Panel, Serum is useful as an adjunct in the diagnosis of ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), but should not be relied upon exclusively to establish the diagnosis of UC or CD, or to distinguish between these 2 diseases. Some patients with CD have detectable neutrophile-specific antibodies (NSA), and some patients with UC have elevated levels of IgA and/or IgG anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCA).
Measurement of ASCA and NSA are not useful to determine the extent of disease in patients with inflammatory bowel disease or to determine the response to disease-specific therapy including surgical resection of diseased intestine.
Day(s) Performed
Monday through Friday; 5 p.m.
Report Available
Same day/1 dayPerforming Laboratory

Test Classification
This test has been cleared or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is used per manufacturer's instructions. Performance characteristics were verified by Mayo Clinic in a manner consistent with CLIA requirements.CPT Code Information
86671