Different Clinical Presentations of Celiac Disease in Children

Objective: To determine the frequency of different clinical presentations in children having celiac disease. Study design: Cross sectional validation study. Settings: Department of Pediatrics, DHQ Hospital, Faisalabad. Study duration: April 21, 2024 to October 20, 2024. Materials and Procedures: This study included both male and female patients with celiac disease whose ages ranged from 1 to 14 years: Exclusion criteria were giardiasis, immunodeficiency, growth hormone deficit, IBD, abdominal TB, infective gastroenteritis, cystic fibrosis, primary malnutrition, and chronic kidney disease. The pathologist reported that a blood sample was sent to the hospital's pathology laboratory to estimate the ferritin level. With a dermatologist's opinion, dermatitis herpartiformis was evaluated. The patient or parent was asked about their stool history. The following conditions were evaluated: failure to thrive, dermatitis herpetiformis, iron deficiency anemia, and chronic diarrhea. Results: Following clinical presentations were common among children with celiac disease: iron deficiency anemia in 39 (43.33%), failure to thrive in 29 (32.22%), dermatitis herpetiformis in 22 (24.44%), short stature in 24 (26.67%), and chronic diarrhea in 43 (47.78%) patients. Conclusion: In this study, diarrhea, iron deficiency anemia, and failure to thrive were the most prevalent symptoms that children with celiac disease presented with.