Question about blood tests

[SarahJayne]

Hi, I have a 6 year old who has had gastro issues from being about 4 months old. She has previously been diagnosed with allergies to dairy and capsicum which we totally avoid. However she has continued to suffer from stomach pain, daily diarrhoea, fatigue, acid reflux and has extremely slow growing hair (it’s not even down to her shoulders and she’s never had a hair cut). We spoke with the consultant paediatrician again today and they said their gut is telling them celiacs, although they carried out a blood test for it in Feb last year which they said ruled it out. So they have asked us to bring her back in to re-do the blood test. 

This is not something I’m very familiar with so I’m wondering what they are looking for that might be different from last year?  Is the blood test a reliable diagnostic test?

Thanks!

[plumbago]

The child needs to be continuing to consume gluten at least 4-6 weeks prior to the test.

USA-based information here, but should be helpful, generally.

 

[trents]

She could also have NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity) for which there is not yet a test but which shares many of the same symptoms with celiac disease and is 10x more common. If you  take her in again for celiac disease testing make sure she has been consuming liberal amounts of gluten for several weeks beforehand. Also, insist that the doctors order not only the tTG-IGA test but also the total IGA and DGP-IgA and DGP-IgG tests as well. the tTG-IGA is great for adults but the immune systems of children are not mature and often don't respond reliably to the tTG-IGA. So, these other tests can catch what the tTG-IGA misses. And if the total IgA count is low it will drive down other IGA scores toward the negative range. 

 

Edited January 2, 2024 by trents