Celiac disease: Can biopsy be avoided?
The first society to endorse skipping the biopsy was the European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition.
In guidelines for the diagnosis of celiac disease, that group said a celiac diagnosis could be made based on symptoms, antibodies, and HLA in children with symptoms suggestive of the disease and high antibody levels (IgA anti-tissue transglutaminase type 2 antibody titers greater than 10 times the upper limit of normal).
“The data [are] now pretty good to support that approach in symptomatic children,” Dr. Murray said. “If we apply these to adult patients, it’s not bad, actually, partly because our biopsies aren’t perfect.”
However, not all adult gastroenterology specialists agreed with the recommendations of the pediatric society. Guidelines from the British Society of Gastroenterology have stated that serology cannot replace biopsy, which “remains essential” for celiac disease diagnosis.
Global Academy and this news organization are owned by the same parent company.Dr. Murray reported disclosures related to Ardent Mills, DBV Technologies, Evelo, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Immunogenix, Innovate, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, Takeda, Torax Medical, and UCB.
AGA offers celiac disease information for your patients in the GI Patient Center at https://ow.ly/VwJ130jN7Sx.
