The role of duodenal bulb biopsy in the diagnosis of celiac disease in children.
OBJECTIVE
It is suggested that for celiac disease (CD) diagnosis, biopsies should also be taken from the duodenal bulb. Whether bulb biopsies suggestive of CD can be found on upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (EGD) done for reasons other than CD diagnosis is not clear. The aim of our study was to evaluate the contribution of routine bulb biopsies to the diagnosis of CD, when taken regardless of prior suspicion of CD.


METHODS
The study included 96 children who underwent EGD for suspected CD and a control group of 69 children who underwent EGD for reasons other than CD. The mucosal changes were evaluated using the Marsh-Oberhuber classification.


RESULTS
Among the 87 children diagnosed with CD, we identified 6 patients (7%) with typical histologic findings only in the bulb (Marsh 3), but also 1 patient (1.1%) with findings only in the distal duodenum (Marsh 2). In 20 patients (23%) the histological changes were more severe in the bulb. One patient had more prominent findings in the second part of the duodenum. None of the control patients had histological changes compatible with CD in the bulb or the second part of the duodenum.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that when CD is suspected, biopsies should be taken from both locations (bulb and second part) as mucosal changes may emerge only at one site. Nevertheless, the presence of characteristic histology on duodenal bulb biopsies might be sufficient for the diagnosis of CD.
Levinson-Castiel
Rachel
R
Institute for Gastroenterology, Nutrition and Liver Diseases, Schneider's Children Medical Center, Petach Tikvah, Israel. rachelile@yahoo.com
Hartman
Corina
C
Morgenstern
Sara
S
Avitzur
Yaron
Y
Hirsch
Akiva
A
Rosenbach
Yoram
Y
Shapiro
Rivka
R
Zevit
Noam
N
Fleischaker
Hava
H
Niv
Yaron
Y
Shamir
Raanan
R
D000293:Adolescent; D001706:Biopsy / Q000379:methods; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004386:Duodenum / Q000473:pathology*; D016145:Endoscopy, Digestive System / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012720:Severity of Illness Index