Summary:

󠁯Survey highlights need for standardisation of coeliac disease serology testing to make sure the use of a no-biopsy approach in clinics is safe.

󠁯•󠁏󠁏 Makes sure patients receive consistent and reliable diagnosis
󠁯•󠁏󠁏 ⬇️ need for endoscopies and biopsies
󠁯󠁯•󠁏󠁏 Cost and time effective ✅

What does this mean?

Differences and inconsistencies in testing can lead to false positives/negatives and unneeded biopsies.

It's important to make sure standard procedures are in place to decrease the chances of inconsistent test results and make sure patient diagnosis is accurate and consistent.

Results:

356 sites were approached =❯ 342 responded

There was found to be a wide variation in coeliac serology tests used across the UK.
⤷ Variations included:

󠁯•󠁏󠁏 Types of serology tests used
󠁯•󠁏󠁏 Upper limit of normal (ULN) values reported
󠁯•󠁏󠁏 Testing practices
󠁯•󠁏󠁏 ULN between labs using same tests

Evidence suggests a no-biopsy diagnosis is accurate and preferred for patients with high levels of antibodies found in those with coeliac disease ✅

󠁯•󠁏󠁏 Patients with a level of antibodies 10 times or more than the upper limit of normal (ULN)
⤹
( coeliac-specific antibodies ≥10× ULN )

Continuation 🌱

Serological testing - laboratory test that checks blood samples for specific antibodies or other substances.
⤷ Success depends on:

󠁯•󠁏󠁏 Accuracy
󠁯•󠁏󠁏 Reliability
󠁯•󠁏󠁏 Consistency

Antibodies - proteins made by the body's own immune system in response to foreign substances.

Aim of survey was to give essential data on the accuracy of serological testing for diagnosing coeliac disease.
⤷ Ensures a no-biopsy approach is safe and can be applied to clinics across the UK.

󠁯•󠁏󠁏 ⬇️ need for invasive endoscopy
󠁯•󠁏󠁏 Avoids risks involved with endoscopy (⬆️ complications in children)

Getting diagnosed:

󠁯•󠁏󠁏 GP will arrange a blood test to check for antibodies usually present in those with coeliac disease.
󠁯⤷ Important to keep eating gluten to not affect test results.

󠁯•󠁏󠁏 Endoscopy - biopsy of small intestine to look for damage in small intestine.

EGD - Upper Endoscopy

Coeliac disease - Complications Find out about the possible complications of coeliac disease, which can include malabsorption, malnutrition and lactose intolerance.

Coeliac disease affects at least 1 in 100 people in the UK.

Many patients remain undiagnosed, are misdiagnosed or receive significant delays in diagnosis.
⤷ Complications include:

• Nutritional deficiencies
• Anaemia 🩸
• ⬆️ risk of malignancy (cancer)

For more info:
www.nhs.uk/conditions/c...

Continuation 🌱

Gluten is a dietary protein found in - wheat, barley & rye

‼️Eating foods containing gluten can cause a range of gut related (check images below) and general symptoms:

󠁯•󠁏󠁏 tiredness (fatigue)
󠁯•󠁏󠁏 weight loss
󠁯•󠁏󠁏 itchy rashes
󠁯•󠁏󠁏 nerve damage
󠁯•󠁏󠁏 delayed puberty (in children)

Nationwide survey of coeliac disease serology testing in the UK Recent evidence supports diagnosing coeliac disease without biopsy in patients with significantly elevated tissue transglutaminase (IgA-tTG) antibodies. However, the implementation of this no-biopsy approach relies on accurate and consistent ...

#tweetorial on coeliac disease and serology testing in the UK

Coeliac disease - condition where the immune system mistakes substances in gluten as dangerous and attacks it.
⤷ Damages small intestine so body can't properly absorb nutrients

@bethmoss.bsky.social

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...