IgA total in Dehradun

What is a IgA total?

Immunoglobulin A is the antibody that guards mucosal surfaces, lining the gut, airways and other surfaces exposed to the outside world, and it is also secreted in saliva, tears and breast milk. Measuring the total level has one particularly important and under-appreciated use. Selective IgA deficiency is the commonest primary immunodeficiency, affecting roughly one in five hundred people, and most of those people are entirely healthy and never know. The problem is that the standard blood test for coeliac disease, tissue transglutaminase antibody, is an IgA-class antibody: in someone who cannot make IgA, that test reads negative regardless of whether coeliac disease is present. Since IgA deficiency is several times more common among people with coeliac disease than in the general population, this is a real and recurring trap. Measuring total IgA alongside the coeliac antibody establishes whether the result can be believed, and where IgA is deficient, IgG-based coeliac tests are used instead. Beyond this, a raised IgA occurs in liver disease and chronic infections, and in certain blood disorders.

Why take this test?

Total IgA is advised alongside any IgA-based coeliac test, which is the standard first-line investigation for suspected coeliac disease, and this pairing is the single most common and most useful reason to order it. Coeliac disease should be considered for chronic diarrhoea, bloating, unexplained weight loss, iron deficiency anaemia that does not respond to supplements, unexplained fatigue, mouth ulcers, or a family history. IgA is also measured in the investigation of recurrent respiratory or gastrointestinal infections, where deficiency may be relevant, and in the work-up of suspected immune deficiency more broadly. It has a role in chronic liver disease and in the assessment of certain blood disorders where immunoglobulins are measured together. One practical point matters for anyone found to be IgA deficient: it is worth them knowing, because rarely such individuals can react to blood products containing IgA.

• Alongside IgA-based coeliac testing, to validate the result
• Chronic diarrhoea, bloating or unexplained weight loss
• Iron deficiency anaemia not responding to supplements
• Recurrent respiratory or gastrointestinal infections
• Suspected immune deficiency
• Chronic liver disease, or assessment of blood disorders

Normal reference ranges

Ranges are indicative for adults. Your report carries the lab-specific reference range and is reviewed by a LabONE pathologist; always interpret results with your doctor.

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