Celiac Disease in South Jordan

Abstract

PurposeCeliac disease, an autoimmune enteropathy triggered by exposure to gluten, is not uncommon in South Jordan. However, its prevalence is underestimated due to lack of physician awareness of the diversity of disease presentation. The clinical spectrum includes classic gastrointestinal manifestations, as well as rickets, iron-deficiency anemia, short stature, elevated liver enzymes, and edema. Our goal was to evaluate celiac disease presentation in clinically diagnosed children.MethodsRetrospective study included all children diagnosed with celiac disease between September 2009 and September 2015. Hospital charts were reviewed. Demographic data, clinical characteristics, and follow-up were recorded.ResultsThirty-five children were diagnosed with celiac disease during the study period. Mean age±standard deviation was 6.7±3.8 years (range, 2.0–14 years). There were 17 (48.6%) female patients. The average duration between onset of symptoms and diagnosis was 16.3±18.7 months. Fifteen (42.9%) patients presented with classic malabsorption symptoms, whereas 7 (20.0%) patients presented with short stature. Positive tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTg)-immunoglobulin A (IgA) was seen in 34 (97.1%) patients. The one patient with negative tTg-IgA had IgA deficiency. Although tTG-IgA values were not available for objective documentation of compliance, clinical data (resolution of presenting abnormalities and growth improvement) assured acceptable compliance in 22 (62.9%) patients.ConclusionCD in children may present with diverse picture. Although of the small number, the non-classical presentations are not uncommon in our rural community. Gluten-free diet is the main strategy for treatment and associated with usually correction of laboratory abnormalities and improvement of growth.

Assessing Parents Knowledge of Coeliac Disease: A Prospective Study of 70 Cases

“…Children should receive support from school health teams, health facilities and support groups. The availability of appetising, affordable and socially acceptable gluten-free foods, as well as improved food labelling, can increase compliance with the glutenfree diet [1,[9][10][11][12][13][14].…”

Generalized edema as the dominant clinical symptom of celiac crisis

“…Currently, celiac disease among children manifests mainly as recurrent abdominal pain and growth disorders [19,20]. In the literature from recent years, the incidence of classical celiac disease among all diagnosed pediatric patients was estimated at 42.2-51.3% [16,18,[21][22][23].…”

Food Intolerance and Customer Behavior Specifics as a Limiting Factor for Travelling

“…The health aspect is an important aspect of food demand (Zoll et al, 2017). Some changes are needed to eliminate the fears of coeliac sufferers from eating out -a gluten-free diet is the main treatment strategy (Altamimi, 2017). The vast majority of coeliac patients would welcome an increase in the offer of gluten-free meals in restaurants and other types of foodservice establishments, including in their neighbourhood.…”