A dietary interview performed by expert personnel is the best method to check whether patients with coeliac disease follow a strict glutenfree diet (GFD). We previously developed a score based on four fast and simple questions that can be administered even by non-expert personnel. The aim of the present study is to verify the reliability of our questionnaire in a new cohort of patients. The questionnaire has a five-level score. From March 2008 to January 2011, the questionnaire was administered to 141 coeliac patients on a GFD, who were undergoing re-evaluation. The score obtained was compared with persistence of both villous atrophy and endomysial antibodies (EMA). The rate of lower scores was higher among the patients with persistence of either villous atrophy (Fisher's exact, P,0·001; test for trend, P,0·001) or positive EMA (Fisher's exact, P¼ 0·001; test for trend, P¼0·018). Given that the coeliac patients have been well instructed on what a GFD means and on how to follow it, our questionnaire is a reliable and simple method to verify compliance to a GFD.

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PCD is not a rare form of CD. Having found no difference at all in age at diagnosis and clinical features between PCD and active CD could suggest that PCD is not a prodrome of CD but is a separate entity that can only subsequently evolve into active CD.

The increased frequency of DQB1*0302 and the reduced frequency of DQB1*02 homozygosity in potential CD is consistent with the idea that different clinical/pathologic evolutions might be related to different immunogeneses. This could be clinically relevant in the future.

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After 12-18 months on a gluten-free diet, 8% of the patients do not present a satisfactory histological response; only some of them could have been identified with a serological and/or clinical re-evaluation. Therefore, a duodenal biopsy seems to be the only tool that could identify patients with unsatisfactory histological response.

Patients with VA and negative endomysial antibodies are rare. However, these forms of VA identify specific causes that can be diagnosed. These patients are affected by a very high mortality.