daughter blood test TTG high Gliadin normal

[Happy families]

Hi my 8 yr old daughter has had 2 blood tests for ceoliac and dr has told me the following:

9th sept - Iron ferritin is law at 29 . Normal is 30-200.

Coeliac screen is borderline. Normal gliadin antibody but positive for  TTG Iga at 36 and TTG IgG at 41. Normal is below 15. repeat blood test in 1 -2 months

26th Oct - Ttg antibody is high and glidin antibody is normal. Repeat in 2-4 months.

Can anyone interpret this and why he would be wanting repeat tests and not going for a biopsy straight out?

Thanks in advance

[trents]

The tTG-IGA is the centerpiece of the celiac test panel. Many doctors will order only this one. It combines fairly good sensitivity with very good specificity. Your daughter's numbers on this one are not borderline. They are strongly positive. Her celiac screen is not borderline. There is no question in my mind that she has celiac disease. An endoscopy/biopsy would be used to confirm this and is considered the gold standard for diagnosing celiac disease. I have no idea why the physician would see the need to order another antibody test. Neither am convinced she needs an endoscopy/biopsy but it can serve the purpose of establishing a baseline for judging healing of the small bowel villi down the road after a gluten free diet is in place. Of course, that implies a follow-up endoscopy/biopsy.

Edited November 1, 2021 by trents

[Happy families]

2 minutes ago, trents said:

The tTG-IGA is the centerpiece of the celiac test panel. Many doctors will order only this one. It combines fairly good sensitivity with very good specificity. Your daughter's numbers on this one are not borderline. They are strongly positive. Her celiac screen is not borderline. There is no question in my mind that she has celiac disease. An endoscopy/biopsy would be used to confirm this and is considered the gold standard for diagnosing celiac disease. I have no idea why the physician would see the need to order another antibody test. Neither am I'm not even convinced she needs an endoscopy/biopsy but it can serve the purpose of establishing a baseline for judging healing of the small bowel villi down the road after a gluten free diet is in place. Of course, that implies a follow-up endoscopy/biopsy.

Thankyou for that. confirms in my mind. i have had low ferritin for the last 5 yrs myself and had a transfusion back 2 yrs ago and due for another now. i hardly eat much gluten myself and wasnt until i asked my dr to test me for ceoliac my dr called me friday to say the deamitated gliadian test for me was postive at 17. should be less than 15. he is going to call me again tonight to discuss a biopsy. is it likely i have it also? My aunty does. 

[trents]

Different studies over the years have reported vastly different numbers but one recent large study (300 people I think) done by the Mayo Clinic found that 44% of first degree relatives of those with celiac disease also had celiac disease. The child's father and her siblings also need to be tested.

You probably have celiac disease. You have a positive test, anemia and a family history. I need to tell you that anyone who has celiac disease needs to take the gluten free diet seriously. It's not a matter of cutting down on gluten but striving diligently to eliminate it entirely. If a celiac continues regular, even semi regular exposure to gluten they will not experience healing. Inflammation and damage will continue in the small bowel. There is a real learning curve to eliminating gluten from the diet because it is hidden by terminology and is found in processed foods where you would never expect it to be like soy sauce, canned tomato soup (most canned soups, really) and some chocolate syrups. Wheat flour is a cheap and readily available thickener, texturing agent and filler. It can be found in meds and supplements. Breakfast cereals that include "malt flavoring" in the ingredient list contain gluten. Then there is the whole issue of cross contamination (CC) where foods that are "naturally gluten free" can pick up gluten from coming in contact with gluten during growing, transportation, storage and processing.

The hardest thing, however, is the impact on one's social life. How do you handle invitations from family and friends who invite you over for a meal but you know they haven't the faintest idea of how to cook gluten free and may even be skeptical of this whole gluten free thing? How do you eat out safely at restaurants when the kitchen staff probably has no idea of how to avoid cross contamination during cooking and handling of food orders?

[Happy families]

2 minutes ago, trents said:

Different studies over the years have reported vastly different numbers but one recent large study (300 people I think) done by the Mayo Clinic found that 44% of first degree relatives of those with celiac disease also had celiac disease. The child's father and her siblings also need to be tested.

You probably have celiac disease. You have a positive test, anemia and a family history. I need to tell you that anyone who has celiac disease needs to take the gluten free diet seriously. It's not a matter of cutting down on gluten but striving diligently to eliminate it entirely. If a celiac continues regular, even semi regular exposure to gluten they will not experience healing. Inflammation and damage will continue in the small bowel. There is a real learning curve to eliminating gluten from the diet because it is hidden by terminology and is found in processed foods where you would never expect it to be like soy sauce, canned tomato soup (most canned soups, really) and some chocolate syrups. Wheat flour is a cheap and readily available thickener, texturing agent and filler. It can be found in meds and supplements. Breakfast cereals that include "malt flavoring" in the ingredient list contain gluten. Then there is the whole issue of cross contamination (CC) where foods that are "naturally gluten free" can pick up gluten from coming in contact with gluten during growing, transportation, storage and processing.

The hardest thing, however, is the impact on one's social life. How do you handle invitations from family and friends who invite you over for a meal but you know they haven't the faintest idea of how to cook gluten free and may even be skeptical of this whole gluten free thing? How do you eat out safely at restaurants when the kitchen staff probably has no idea of how to avoid cross contamination during cooking and handling of food orders?

Yes will be a big learning curve. at least if my daughter is, i will do it also. thank you so much for your input. much appreacited