Question About Endoscopy

[Meadow]

Hi,

I was wondering, do doctors typically detect celiac disease directly during an endoscopy, or is the condition more frequently identified through the biopsies?

Also, does celiac disease cause inflamation of the stomach as well as the duodenum and upper intestines? Or, does inflamation of the stomach seem to indicate something else?

Thanks...

[nikki-uk]

Most coeliacs are diagnosed through blood tests,with a biopsy confirming'villous atrophy'(damage to the bowel lining).This type of damage is typical for coeliac disease.

During an endoscopy the tube passes through the stomach on to the duodenum where samples are taken to be sent to labs(Biopsy).The duodenum is the first part of the small bowel.Under the microscope most coeliacs show some level of 'villous atrophy'.

To your final question,it's quite possible that it could affect the stomache too causing inflammation.Theoretically celiac disease can affect any part of the digestive system -from throat to bowel,although I think other problems should also be ruled out.

Hope that helps you!

[Meadow]

that does help - thank you for taking a moment to reply!

His (son's) blood tests were invalid because of IGA deficiency, so we are relying on the biopsies.

Dr was noncommittal after EGD, as evidently there were no huge, red flags except for signs and symptoms of gastritis. I imagine biopsies are thoroughly checked for other "irritating" stuff like h. pylori.

[KaitiUSA]

If there is not alot of damage to his intestine then the biopsy you have done may turn out negative. Sometimes the doctors take samples from places that are not damaged when there may be some damage somewhere else and other times there is just no damage yet.

Which blood tests did he have done? Did he have EMA and tTG tested for as well?

You should have other things ruled out..yes but celiac can cause many problem...even ones unrelated to the digestive system. There are over 200 symptoms so it could be celiac causing it or it could be something else.

Good luck

[lovegrov]

Generally speaking you can't see celiac damage with the naked eye. The biopsies have to go under a microscope. My GI said he saw no sign of celiac when he did my endoscopy (my blood test numbers were sky-high) but under the miscroscope my villi were COMPLETELY flat.

richard

[bklyn]

Lovegrov,

I had a totally different experience - my dr. spoke to me after the endoscopy and told me he thought I had Celiac Disease (what's that, I thought) but I should get the blood work done before it was a definite diagnosis. Also, he told me to go home and look it up on the internet! When I did that, I thought he was totally crazy for even suggesting that I had it.

[Meadow]

Thanks for the addl information. Its interesting how different our experiences have been.

My son has type 1 diabetes and symptoms consistent with gastritis (nausea, stomach pain, burping/gas, plus occassional constipation and diarrhea). Recent total IGA serum is far below the bottom of the accepted range, tho 2 years ago he had weak positive tTG IGA tests and very positive IGG results, which is why new drs are pursuing celiac disease (and other things).

Docs pulled 5 pairs of biospies throughout the "journey".

[KaitiUSA]

tTG is a pretty specific test for celiac. If that came out positive something is going on. Type 1 diabetes is very much connected with celiac....

Nausea was my main symptom with celiac and the symptoms you are describing are all symptoms of celiac but since there are so many symptoms and the symptoms also can be caused by something else it can be hard to pinpoint but it definitely sounds like celiac is a possibility.