Childrens Iga Levels, Whats Normal?

[kenyonsmommy]

My son just had his three year old check up, where they retested his blood for IgA. Its been 7 months since his diagnosis. The post card came back that his level was 1.0, which they marked with a big red smiley face and circled "were within normal limits". Does anyone know what normal limits are? I was surprised that they came back low, because recently he has developed a rash on his groin and now it is spreading to his upper thighs, tiny blisters that I suspect is DH. I'm glad they are saying its low, because that obviously means we are doing things right, which I worry about all the time.

Any one have any ideas??? Thanks!!

[Nancym]

My understanding is that DH might not show up in blood test results. You need to have a skin biopsy.

[jayhawkmom]

I don't know what normal is for a child... but I do know that the "norm" varies depending on the lab you use.

An example... at the lab we go through, the normal IgA (for total syrum) is 70-400. So, for us... a 1 would be, well... nonexistent.

If you are refering to the IgA to gliadin antibodies... again, that will vary by lab and you'd have to know their "reference ranges."

My 8 year old just had his panel run, and while his total syrum IgA was perfectly fine... his IgA AB's were 37 - and anything under 11 is considered "normal."

[prinsessa]

At the lab my son was tested at, anything under 5 was considered "normal". His tests were 3, so they said he wasn't gluten intolerant. I went through Enterolab and his tests came back positive. I agree that you should have a biopsy of the DH. I think that is more reliable than the blood tests. If the tests come back positive for DH then he is gluten intolerant.

[janelyb]

My 8 year old just had his panel run, and while his total syrum IgA was perfectly fine... his IgA AB's were 37 - and anything under 11 is considered "normal."

Sounds like my son's results but I don't rmember which one was the under 11 was normal, my son's # for that was 36, but the doc said the celiac panel was negative...but the 36 # drew concern with my doc so we are running the test again Monday.

I too am confused with the #'s....and I am wondering if I should shell out $$$ to send the blood to a speciality lab or is my insurence lab good enough????

[kenyonsmommy]

At the lab my son was tested at, anything under 5 was considered "normal". His tests were 3, so they said he wasn't gluten intolerant. I went through Enterolab and his tests came back positive. I agree that you should have a biopsy of the DH. I think that is more reliable than the blood tests. If the tests come back positive for DH then he is gluten intolerant.

I already know he is gluten intolerant, he was diagnosed last year by blood and biopsy. I think he will have to have a biopsy of the DH. The rash has now gotten worse, the blisters are larger and are cover his groin, mostly on his testicles. He has not been itching them and does not complian about them, but they look awful. I asked for a referral to the dermatologist today, so hopefully we'll get in to see one soon. I have been putting antibiotic ointment on them for infection. I also thought about chicken pox, but arent they all over the body?

[jayhawkmom]

but the doc said the celiac panel was negative...but the 36 # drew concern with my doc so we are running the test again Monday.

I'm always amused when part of the test is positive, but the doctors say it's negative. Same thing with my daughter... only 1 of the 4 parts was positive. Our allergist said the panel was negative. Her GI disagreed.

With my older son's... 3 of the 4 were positive, and yet... I was told the panel was negative. He had a positive tTg, positive IgA and positive IgG. Negative?? I don't think so.

The doctor has not yet reviewed those results... it was a nurse practitioner who gave me the results as the doctor is out of town. Cracks me up that I know more than the nurse does.

Typical though... eh?

[kenyonsmommy]

It concerns me that part of a test could come back positive yet they would still say negative results. I was tested last year, as was my father, after my son was diagnosed. Both came back as "negative". I have the same dr as my son, and since he was so proactive in diagnosing my son, I have to trust him on the bloodwork. He did find that I have selective IgA deficiency. My fathers doctor is an idiot, I am really going to bully him into having another test, from another Dr. His mother, my grandmother, died from Stomach cancer 7 years ago, she had problems all her life and I would not be surprised if she was celiac.

What I am realizing is that I do not know enough about my sons test to really know what it means, so I will have to ask some questions.

[aikiducky]

Kenyonsmommy, if you are Iga deficient, how did your doctor decide that your blood test was negative? It's my understanding that an Iga deficient person would always test negative, and they need to be tested in some other way for celiac, by biopsy for example.

Pauliina

[kenyonsmommy]

I had to have another blood test, where he checked for other antibodies. I'm not sure what exactly, but he told me it was negative for celiac. He did alot of research to figure out what to do, as I was the first patient he has had with Selective IgA deficiency, and my son was his first pediatric celiac patient, he had some adults, but no children. He was very good about getting the info and contacting specialists. We live near Strong Hospital/University of Rochester, and they have some special projects going on in regards to these subjects, so I guess he was able to gather some good info.

[aikiducky]

Sounds like a good thorough doc then!

Pauliina