Coeliac disease is a condition where your immune system attacks your own tissues when you eat gluten. This damages your gut (small intestine) so reduced surface area to uptake nutrients
Causes/Factors
- Family history/genetics
- Other autoimmune conditions
- Environmental factors
Presentation
- Stinking stools (steatorrhea)
- Diarrhoea
- Abdominal pain
- Bloating
- Nausea + vomiting,
- Weight loss
- Fatigue
- Failure to thrive
Diagnostic Tests
Dude is Just Feeling Ill Bro Duodenum: Iron Jejunum: Folate Ileum: B12
- Hb
- RCDW
- B12
- ferritin
- Anti-transglutaminase antibodies (ATA) where positive go to duodenal biopsy while on gluten containing diet
Management
Lifelong gluten free diet. Some notable foods which are gluten-free include:
- rice
- potatoes
- corn (maize)
Vaccination
Patients with coeliac disease often have a degree of functional hyposplenism
- For this reason, all patients with coeliac disease are offered the pneumococcal vaccine
- Coeliac UK recommends that everyone with coeliac disease is vaccinated against pneumococcal infection and has a booster every 5 years
- Current guidelines suggest giving the Influenza vaccine on an individual basis.
Complications/red Flags
- Anaemia
- Dermatitis Herpetiformis
- Osteopenia/porosis