Wouldn't a positive result indicate autoimmunity though? Even if it is a low positive? They set a negative range, at-risk range, and a positive range.
I might have misunderstood something but was trying to explain how I reached my own decision re: which treatments to try based on feedback from my main doctor and MCAS doctor (plus Neuros that I saw at that time). There are a lot of different opinions out there that definitely conflict with each other.
I know some doctors consider an ANA titer to be positive if it is anything over 1:40. Mine was 1:160, speckled pattern and some doctors considered it very significant while others considered it very minor or completely irrelevant. I think just a positive ANA alone (with no symptoms of autoimmunity and no other positive test results) would have been totally disregarded.
That was similar to the feedback I got re: Cell Trend back in 2016. If I'd had 2-3 low positives, I got the sense my doctors would have disregarded it but b/c I had 7/9 very high positives, it was viewed as additional evidence of autoimmunity (combined with the ANA and my positive lab results from two Mayo autoimmune panels). It also matched with my severe POTS and muscle and breathing weakness.
So in totality, my doctors felt that I was a very good candidate for high dose IVIG and Rituximab. Without the autoantibody evidence, I am not sure that I would have pursued it so heavily b/c it was an epic, never-ending battle with my insurance. But in my case, we felt it was worth it, and it absolutely was. I am not trying to discourage you or anyone from doing these treatments, I am just explaining my decision process. I felt it was high risk but had the potential for high reward and in my case, I was correct.
I was also the first patient my main doctor had ever done the Cell Trend testing with after I learned of the tests, called the lab in Germany, and asked him if I could do them. I was "patient zero" for him with Cell Trend but now he runs these tests on most patients, and his office created a kit for them, so he may have a totally different perspective on it two years later. He may now consider all positive results to be useful in treating with IVIG and Rituximab. I am not sure and am basing it off of my experience from two years ago when we decided that this was the only logical treatment course for me.
I hope this makes more sense (and is just my own personal, non-medical interpretation and experience)!