Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae Antibodies (ASCA) blood test is to help distinguish between Crohn disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), the two most common types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); as an adjunct to other IBD testing.
When you have symptoms such as persistent or intermittent diarrhea and abdominal pain that your doctor suspects may be due to an IBD, this test is to be done.
If ASCA is positive and pANCA is negative, then it is likely that the person has CD.
If ASCA is negative and pANCA is positive, then it is likely that the person has UC.
A negative result for ASCA and pANCA does necessarily rule out IBD. A person who is negative may still have CD, UC, or another IBD.
