title: [Pediatric celiac disease in the region of Sousse: epidemiological and evolutive study of 80 cases].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Analyze epidemiological and evolutive profile of paediatric celiac disease in the region of Sousse.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied retrospectively 80 cases enrolled in the paediatrics' department of Sousse between 1993 and 2003.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 44 girls and 36 boys (sex-ratio=0.81). The middle age of gluten introduction was 9 months, with extremes going from 1 to 24 months. Free interval between the introduction of gluten and the beginning of the symptoms was meaningfully more elevated in patients who received gluten after the age of 6 months (p=0.036). At the time of the diagnosis, the middle age of our patients was six years with extremes going from nine months to 17 years. The classic form of celiac disease with chronic diarrhoea has been observed in 85% of the cases. The morbid associations with celiac disease were dominated by the diabetes type 1 noted in 5% of the cases. Antigliadin antibodies, practiced in first intension, were positive in 98.6%. At histology, villous atrophy was sub-total to total in 96.25% of the cases and partial in 3.75% of the cases. Follow-up was on average at 18 months. Adhesion to the gluten-free diet (GFD) was judged satisfactory in 81.45% of the cases on average. Catch up growth, although remarkable, was not very satisfactory. Indeed, several patients adhering little or not to the GFD kept, at one year of evolution, a ponderal and stature delay superior to 2SD.
authors.affiliation: Service de pédiatrie du CHU Sahloul, Sousse.
authors.forename: Jalel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chemli
authors.forename: Ibtissem
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Abid
authors.forename: Moncef
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yacoub
authors.forename: Ines
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Guedira
authors.forename: Sadok
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Korbi
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sahloul Essoussi
authors.forename: Abdelaziz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Harbi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000906:Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D055050:Diet, Gluten-Free; D005260:Female; D005903:Gliadin / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014416:Tunisia / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D005903:Gliadin