The Patient Celiac

“Up to Date” is an online medical database for physicians and other practitioners. I use it almost every day when I am at work to get a brief overview of the most recent evidence regarding the diagnosis and management of my patients’ problems.

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I just reviewed the most recent “Up to Date” highlights on the management of Celiac Disease in adults (published April 10, 2013). Here are some of the highlights:

There are 6 key elements in the management of Celiac patients (note pneumonic CELIAC):

Consultation with a skilled dietician.

Education about the disease.

Lifelong adherence to a gluten free diet.

Identification and treatment of nutritional deficiencies.

Access to an advocacy group.

Continuous long-term follow-up by a multidisciplinary team.

I highlighted #4 because I think that it is in important one to discuss and a reminder that the management of our disease is a bit more complicated than just eating gluten free foods.

The authors suggest that newly diagnosed patients should have blood work done 4 to 6 weeks after starting the gluten free diet, which should include a CBC (complete blood count, to evaluate for anemia), folate and vitamin B12 levels, iron studies, liver chemistries, and Celiac antibody levels. In most cases, TTG (tissue transglutminase) IgA levels should decrease to normal within 3 to 12 months of going gluten free. The authors reiterate that the most common cause of persistently elevated celiac antibodies is continued exposure to gluten (whether intentional or not).

Although the authors still recommend a repeat endoscopy and small bowel biopsy 3 to 4 months after going gluten free, they admit that this is debatable. An increasing number of physicians will only repeat the biopsy for patients with persistent symptoms after going gluten free.

“Nonresponders” are patients who have persistent symptoms and/or elevated antibodies and/or abnormal small bowel biopsies after 2 years on the gluten-free diet. I plan to discuss this topic in further detail in an upcoming post.

The authors recommend monitoring for specific nutritional deficiencies which are associated with Celiac Disease, including the following: iron, folic acid, calcium, vitamin D, thiamine, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, magnesium, zinc, copper, and selenium, especially at the time of diagnosis. This is pretty much in line with the recommendations from the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center.

Patients should be evaluated for bone loss using a DEXA scan at time of diagnosis and at one year intervals. As an aside, I was unable to get my own insurance to cover this for me, and my out of pocket quotes ranged from $650 to $800. I am going to have to start to pick this battle again soon.

Family members should be screened. The authors quote that 5-11% of first degree relatives (parents, siblings, children) will also have Celiac Disease. This is quite a bit higher than some of the other estimates which I have seen.

A few things in this article which I had never heard before:

- It is normal for women to experience breast tenderness in the 1st 3 months after going gluten free….

- Gluten challenges in children with Celiac Disease may increase the risk of the development of additional autoimmune disorders, such as type 1 diabetes…

- Improvement in dermatitis herpetiformis may not occur for 6 to 12 months after going gluten free…

I just tried to remember what the CELIAC pneumonic stands for, and failed miserably, so I am going to go to sleep instead. Thanks for reading and good night!

Reference:

“Management of Celiac Disease in Adults.” By Ciclitira, P.J. UpToDate, April 10, 2013. www.uptodate.com.