A New Study Looks at Celiac Disease and Thrombotic Events

Celiac.com 10/24/2022 - The advisability of considering the extra-intestinal manifestations of celiac disease, even in patients without typical intestinal symptoms, is not well studied. A team of researchers recently set out to examine the literature regarding the occurrence of thrombotic events in celiac disease, and to synthesize the data from case reports and case series.

The research team included Nikola Pantic, Ivana Pantic, Dorde Jevtic, Vanajakshi Mogulla, Stevan Oluic, Momcilo Durdevic, Terri Nordin, Mladen Jecmenica, Tamara Milovanovic,Tatjana Gavrancic, and Igor Dumic.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A12):
The team performed a systematic review of medical literature by searching the Pub-Med/MEDLINE database through January 2022, to identify published cases and case series on this topic, in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. 

The team included a total of 55 cases in the study.  Most patients were previously healthy people, with no comorbidities. 

In nearly one-third of the cases, a celiac disease diagnosis was made before thrombosis began. In just over one-third of the other patients, thrombosis preceded the celiac diagnosis or was made together with the celiac diagnosis. 

Most thrombosis (about 1 in 3 cases) was found in hepatic veins, while thrombosis of cerebral blood vessels, deep venous thrombosis of lower extremities, and pulmonary thromboembolism were less common. 

Nearly 4 out of 5 cases of thrombosis were restricted to one site only. Nearly 70% of thrombosis patients were treated with anticoagulants, and placed on a gluten-free diet.

This study reinforces the importance of considering extra-intestinal manifestations of celiac disease, even in patients without typical intestinal symptoms. 

The original article belongs to the Special Issue Celiac Disease and Non-celiac Gluten Sensitivity, Extraintestinal-Associated Conditions: Efficacy of a Gluten-Free Diet.

Read more at MDPI.com

The researchers are variously affiliated with the Clinic of Hematology, University Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia; the Clinic of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia; the Elmhurst Hospital Center, Department of Internal Medicine, Elmhurst, NY, USA; the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA; the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA; the Department of Hospital Medicine, Mayo Clinic Health System, Eau Claire, WI, USA; the Department of Internal Medicine, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL, USA; the Department of Hospital Medicine, Advocate Aurora Health, Green Bay, WI, USA; the Oceana Gastroenterology Associated, Corona, CA, USA; and the Department of Hospital Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA.