Anti-DNase B
- Also Known As:
- ADN-B
- ADB
- ADNase-B
- Formal Name:
- Antideoxyribonuclease-B Titer

This page was fact checked by our expert Medical Review Board for accuracy and objectivity. Read more about our editorial policy and review process.
.At a Glance
Why Get Tested?
To help determine whether you have had a recent strep infection with the bacteria group A Streptococcus; to help diagnose complications resulting from a recent strep infection, such as rheumatic fever or glomerulonephritis, a form of kidney disease
When To Get Tested?
When you have symptoms such as fever, chest pain, fatigue and shortness of breath that suggest rheumatic fever, or symptoms such as accumulation of fluid (edema) and dark urine that are associated with glomerulonephritis, especially when you recently may have had a group A streptococcal infection that was not diagnosed and treated appropriately; may be done along with or following an antistreptolysin O (ASO) test
Sample Required?
A blood sample drawn from a vein
Test Preparation Needed?
None
You may be able to find your test results on your laboratory’s website or patient portal. However, you are currently at Testing.com. You may have been directed here by your lab’s website in order to provide you with background information about the test(s) you had performed. You will need to return to your lab’s website or portal, or contact your healthcare practitioner in order to obtain your test results.
Testing.com is an award-winning patient education website offering information on laboratory tests. The content on the site, which has been reviewed by laboratory scientists and other medical professionals, provides general explanations of what results might mean for each test listed on the site, such as what a high or low value might suggest to your healthcare practitioner about your health or medical condition.
The reference ranges for your tests can be found on your laboratory report. They are typically found to the right of your results.
If you do not have your lab report, consult your healthcare provider or the laboratory that performed the test(s) to obtain the reference range.
Laboratory test results are not meaningful by themselves. Their meaning comes from comparison to reference ranges. Reference ranges are the values expected for a healthy person. They are sometimes called “normal” values. By comparing your test results with reference values, you and your healthcare provider can see if any of your test results fall outside the range of expected values. Values that are outside expected ranges can provide clues to help identify possible conditions or diseases.
While accuracy of laboratory testing has significantly evolved over the past few decades, some lab-to-lab variability can occur due to differences in testing equipment, chemical reagents, and techniques. This is a reason why so few reference ranges are provided on this site. It is important to know that you must use the range supplied by the laboratory that performed your test to evaluate whether your results are “within normal limits.”
For more information, please read the article Reference Ranges and What They Mean.
What is being tested?
Anti-DNase B (antideoxyribonuclease-B antibody) is one of the most common of several antibodies that are produced by the body’s immune system in response to an infection with group A Streptococcus (strep infection). The anti-DNase B test measures the amount of this antibody in the blood. It is typically done with or following an antistreptolysin O (ASO) test, another test to detect antibody to a streptococcal antigen.
Group A Streptococcus (Streptococcus pyogenes), is the bacterium that causes strep throat and a variety of other infections, including skin infections (pyoderma, impetigo, cellulitis). In most cases, strep infections are diagnosed and successfully treated with antibiotics.
Sometimes a strep infection does not cause identifiable symptoms, goes untreated, or is treated ineffectively, and complications (sequelae), namely rheumatic fever and glomerulonephritis, can develop, especially in young children. These secondary conditions are uncommon in the U.S. because of routine strep testing and antibiotic treatment, but they do occur.
- Rheumatic fever is a delayed immune response in which the body produces antibodies directed against itself (autoimmune). This can cause serious damage to heart valves and lead to symptoms such as swelling and pain in several joints, heart inflammation (carditis), skin nodules, rapid, jerky movements (Sydenham chorea), and skin rash.
- Post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis, a condition affecting the kidneys, can develop a week or two after a strep infection. Your body produces antibodies to fight the strep infection, but these antibodies can eventually be deposited in the glomeruli, which are small, looping blood vessels within the kidneys that continually filter the blood. This can cause inflammation and kidney damage, affecting kidney function.
Common Questions
View Sources
Sources Used in Current Review
(March 8, 2018) Mayo Clinic. Glomerulonephritis. Available online at https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/glomerulonephritis/symptoms-causes/syc-20355705. Accessed May 2019.
(November 17, 2017) Mayo Clinic. Rheumatic Fever. Available online at https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/rheumatic-fever/symptoms-causes/syc-20354588. Accessed May 2019.
© 2015 National Kidney Foundation. What is Glomerulonephritis? Available online at https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/glomerul. Accessed May 2019.
Group A Streptococcal Disease. ARUP Consult©. Available online at https://arupconsult.com/content/streptococcal-disease-group. Accessed May 2019.
© 1995–2019 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Anti-DNase B Titer, Serum. Available online at https://www.mayocliniclabs.com/test-catalog/Clinical+and+Interpretive/80204. Accessed May 2019.
Sources Used in Previous Reviews
(© 1995–2014). Anti-DNase B Titer, Serum. Mayo Clinic Mayo Medical Laboratories [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.mayomedicallaboratories.com/test-catalog/Overview/80204. Accessed January 2014.
Delgado, J. and Fisher, M. (Updated 2013 September). Streptococcal Disease, Group A – Group A, Strep. ARUP Consult [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.arupconsult.com/Topics/StrepA.html?client_ID=LTD. Accessed January 2014.
Robert J Meador, R. and Russell, I. J. (Updated 2013 December 13). Acute Rheumatic Fever. Medscape Reference [On-line information]. Available online at http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/333103-overview. Accessed January 2014.
Parmar, M. (Updated 2013 April 3). Acute Glomerulonephritis. Medscape Reference [On-line information]. Available online at http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/239278-overview. Accessed January 2014.
Khan, Z. and Salvaggio, M. (Updated 2013 September 30). Group A Streptococcal Infections. Medscape Reference [On-line information]. Available online at http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/228936-overview. Accessed January 2014.
Lewis, L. and Friedman, A. (Updated 2014 January 30). Impetigo. Medscape Reference [On-line information]. Available online at http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/965254-overview. Accessed January 2014.
Geetha, D. (Updated 2012 July 2). Poststreptococcal Glomerulonephritis. Medscape Reference [On-line information]. Available online at http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/240337-overview. Accessed February 2014.
Chin, T. et. al. (Updated 2012 May 30). Pediatric Rheumatic Heart Disease. Medscape Reference [On-line information]. Available online at http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/891897-overview. Accessed February 2014.
Salifu, M. and Delano, B. (Updated 2012 January 12). Diffuse Proliferative Glomerulonephritis. Medscape Reference [On-line information]. Available online at http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/239646-overview. Accessed February 2014.
Dugdale, D. (Updated 2011 June 9). Anti-DNase B. MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003537.htm. Accessed January 2014.
Dugdale, D. (2011 September 20). Post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (GN). MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia [On-line information]. Available online at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000503.htm. Accessed February 2014.
Chin, T. and Li, D. (Updated 2012 May 30). Pediatric Rheumatic Fever. Medscape Reference [On-line information]. Available online at http://reference.medscape.com/article/1007946-overview. Accessed February 2014.
Pessler, F and Sherry, D. (Modified 2012 February). Rheumatic Fever. Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals [On-line information]. Available online through http://www.merckmanuals.com. Accessed January 2014.
Pagana, K. D. & Pagana, T. J. (© 2011). Mosby’s Diagnostic and Laboratory Test Reference 10th Edition: Mosby, Inc., Saint Louis, MO. Pp 916-918.
Wu, A. (© 2006). Tietz Clinical Guide to Laboratory Tests, 4th Edition: Saunders Elsevier, St. Louis, MO. Pp 1527.
Ask a Laboratory Scientist
