Help Interpreting Labs For 5 Year Old. Waiting To See Gi.

[Celiac503]

I am looking for some interpretation of lab results for my son, who is almost 6. I was recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease and began a gluten free diet. He has still been eating gluten. Because of my diagnosis we decided to test all 3 of our kids for the disease. Two of our children are definitely negative at this time. Our oldest has the following test results:

Gliding Ab, IgA 17 (normal ref 0-19)

TTG Ab, IgA 35 [H] (normal ref 0-19)

Endomysial Ab, IgA <1:10 (normal <1:10)

IgA serum total 68 [L] (normal 70-310)

His pediatrician says his lab tests were negative for celiac. I received a lot of push back from him about why would I want to get my kids tested just so they could have a diagnosis and that doing a food sensitivity panel may be more helpful if we are "worried" about gluten. Anyway, besides the point.

Looking at his labs, there definitely seems to be things that point toward Celiac. I realize the 35 ttg is not that high, but he is also low IgA. He has moderately severe reflux, which he takes Prevacid for 2x/day and while not ADHD, he dos have a hard time being still and concentrating. We are waiting to see his Ped GI which I assume will want to do an endoscopy.

Any thoughts or interpretation?

[shadowicewolf]

they need to run the ttg igg ones since he has a low total iga. A low iga can cause the results to be different and unreliable. By testing the TTG IGG you can have a more accurate result.

[nvsmom]

I personally think your doctor is wrong to dismiss celiac disease with test results you posted. His tTG IgA ws high, not super high but as you said, he is low in IgA so the fact that he registered a positive tTG IgA at all is rather remarkable. The tTG IgA shows that the bosy is attempting to do damage to his intestines... not all is well in there.  

 

A low positive tTG IgA can sometimes (about 5% of time) be attributed to causes other than celiac disease like diabetes, crohns and colitis, chronic liver disease, thyroiditis, or a severe intestinal infection. If it isn't celiac disease, but I bet it is, then those would be the things your doctor should be looking into.

 

His gliadin Ab IgA (AGA IgA) was very close to the upper limit too. With a low IgA, that could be an issue. AGA IgA tests for gliadin antibodies and is thought by some to work for bothe celiac disease and non-celiac gluten intolerance (NCGI). Essentially, it IS a food sensitivity test - either I am very wrong, or his ped doesn't know a lot about testing.

 

I completely agree with Shadowicewolf, the IgG based tests should be run. tTG IgG and DGP IgG would probably be his best bets. If he is doing more testing, don't go gluten-free yet.

 

Best wishes!

[frieze]

Your doc needs to go back to school, and tht is the polite version of my thoughts!  geesh. You have  positive celiac test, AND his comment on the "food sensitivity" in relation to gluten is wrong.

[Celiac503]

Thank you for your input! I will keep you updated after his Ped GI appointment on Friday 9/13.