What Does The Following Mean On A Endoscope Result

[Roberto]

Hi I just had some endoscopic results back with the following notes:

 

Minimum patchy increase in intraepithelial lymphocytes, villous architecture preserved?

 

Grateful for some comments.

 

Thanks

[cyclinglady]

Based on this study on PubMed, it is possible that you could still celiac disease. Did you have a celiac blood panel? How many biopsies were taken during the endoscopy?

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Welcome to the forum!

[Roberto]

Thanks for your comments and welcome. My partner has been diagnosed with Celiacs for sometime and was more than worried with the results. I recall previously that her villi were blunted and short. Would the preserved architecture mean and improvement? There does to be a link between ILs and celiacs but what does minimum patchy increase mean in laymen's terms?

[cyclinglady]

The surface area of the small intestine is about the size of a tennis court. Doctors typically take six to eight wall samples during an endoscopy. A lot could be missed. That is why so many tests (blood, endo/biopsy, gene, diet changes, etc.) are done to help diagnose celiac disease.

Minimum and patchy? Could be just the start of celiac disease. A little damage here.....none over there....that is patchy.

If your partner has celiac disease. and you have been eating gluten light, your blood tests may not be accurate. Could explain the minimal damage to your intestine too.

[jddh]

Increased ILs indicate inflammation in the gut. In the context of celiac disease, your results sound like "light" damage, or perhaps healing tissue from prior damage.

 

Do you consume gluten in your diet?

 

As @cyclinglady says, it's important to look at blood markers to see if you've been having an autoimmune reaction to gluten.

 

However, increased ILs and VA can also be caused by other things. It's important that you follow up with your gastroenterologist to perform other tests to rule out other diseases and investigate whether you have celiac disease.

[Roberto]

Thanks for all your response - very useful to be a little bit informed when my partner goes back to the GI.

 

My partner has been on a strict gluten free diet for over 2 years and was diagnosed with Celiacs - these were results in relation to see whether a gluten free diet is working. 

 

Hopefully when she goes back they can shed a little light aion the results and a way forward.

 

Thanks again.

[jddh]

Oh I get it now—these are your partner's results, already diagnosed and on gluten-free diet.

 

If they saw blunted villi earlier, than preserved villous architecture is good news—they are back to normal!

 

I have just received similar results; they usually call this "disease in histologic remission"; ie. your partner is healing.

 

But your GI will know best

[Roberto]

Sorry didn't give a starting point to this thread - but all makes sense now. Thanks for your time.