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  • Jefferson Adams
    Jefferson Adams

    Can Carpal Spasm Be One of the First Signs of Celiac Disease?

    Reviewed and edited by a celiac disease expert.

    A team of physicians recently reported on the case of a 3-year-old Albanian girl who presented at their clinic with carpal spasms and hand paresthesia.

    Can Carpal Spasm Be One of the First Signs of Celiac Disease? - Can carpal spasm be an early sign of celiac disease in some cases? Photo: CC--University of Liverpool Faculty Health Life Sciences
    Caption: Can carpal spasm be an early sign of celiac disease in some cases? Photo: CC--University of Liverpool Faculty Health Life Sciences

    Celiac.com 11/22/2017 - A team of physicians recently reported on the case of a 3-year-old Albanian girl who presented at their clinic with carpal spasms and hand paresthesia. The physicians include Atifete Ramosaj-Morina; A. Keka-Sylaj; V. Hasbahta; A. Baloku-Zejnullahu; M. Azemi; and R. Zunec.

    A physical exam showed the girl to be in good physical condition, with a body weight of 10.5 kg (10 percentile). She was suffering from carpal spasms and paresthesias of her extremities. Positive Chvostek and Trousseau signs
    indicated neuromuscular irritability.

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    Blood tests showed severe hypocalcemia with a total serum calcium of 1.2 mmol/L (normal range 2.12 to 2.55 mmol/L), ionized calcium of 0.87 (normal range 1.11 to 1.30 mmol/L), and 24-hour urine calcium excretion of 9.16 mmol (normal range female

    The team screened the girl for celiac disease with antigliadin immunoglobulin A, anti-tissue transglutaminase, and anti-endomysial immunoglobulin A antibodies. All tests were positive. The girl underwent a duodenal biopsy, which showed lymphocyte infiltration, crypt hyperplasia, and villous atrophy compatible with celiac disease grade IIIb according to the Marsh classification.

    Following her celiac diagnosis, the team conducted human leukocyte antigen typing, which provided a definite diagnosis of celiac disease. She was started on a gluten-free diet. Apparently, the girl did not follow a gluten-free diet, which caused a recurrence of carpal spasms. At 7 years of age, the girl showed signs of delayed psychophysical development.

    Although hypocalcemia is not uncommon in people with celiac disease, it is rare for hypocalcemic carpal spasm to be the first manifestation of the disease. Because of this, the doctors urge other physicians to consider the possibility of celiac disease in patients with repeated carpal spasms that seem to resist easy treatment.

    They indicate that celiac disease should be considered even in the absence of gastrointestinal symptoms, since hypocalcemia and carpal spasm may appear as the first symptoms of celiac disease, even in young children.

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  • About Me

    Jefferson Adams

    Jefferson Adams is Celiac.com's senior writer and Digital Content Director. He earned his B.A. and M.F.A. at Arizona State University. His articles, essays, poems, stories and book reviews have appeared in numerous magazines, journals, and websites, including North American Project, Antioch Review, Caliban, Mississippi Review, Slate, and more. He is the author of more than 2,500 articles on celiac disease. His university coursework includes studies in science, scientific methodology, biology, anatomy, physiology, medicine, logic, and advanced research. He previously devised health and medical content for Colgate, Dove, Pfizer, Sharecare, Walgreens, and more. Jefferson has spoken about celiac disease to the media, including an appearance on the KQED radio show Forum, and is the editor of numerous books, including "Cereal Killers" by Scott Adams and Ron Hoggan, Ed.D.

    >VIEW ALL ARTICLES BY JEFFERSON ADAMS

     


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