Don't Know How To Interpret Husband's Results

[dancergirlmom]

Good afternoon,

I'm brand new to the board - so I apologize for any "obvious" questions. My husband has been suffering from symptoms that I thought could be related to some form of a gluten intolerance, so I had him ask for a blood test from his doctor. They called back and said he's "fine" and gave us two numbers - 8.3 and 289. I have no idea what these numbers mean and can't find anywhere to tell me. Is there anyone on these boards that can help me determine if his digestive troubles truly have nothing to do with gluten and we should be looking elsewhere? Are there other tests we should be requesting? Thanks for any help you can offer!

[basilicious]

Good afternoon,

I'm brand new to the board - so I apologize for any "obvious" questions. My husband has been suffering from symptoms that I thought could be related to some form of a gluten intolerance, so I had him ask for a blood test from his doctor. They called back and said he's "fine" and gave us two numbers - 8.3 and 289. I have no idea what these numbers mean and can't find anywhere to tell me. Is there anyone on these boards that can help me determine if his digestive troubles truly have nothing to do with gluten and we should be looking elsewhere? Are there other tests we should be requesting? Thanks for any help you can offer!

Hi dancergirlmom,

Welcome to the board. I am a newbie too, but since I've been immersed in the diagnosis process, I can offer some basic guidance. First, you absolutely must get a copy of your husband's lab results. Post them on the forum along with the reference ranges, and there are members who can help you interpret them.

Second, here is a list of what should be checked for blood test-wise:

Anti-gliadin (AGA) IgA

Anti-gliadin (AGA) IgG

Anto-Endomysial (EMA) IgA

Anti-Tissue Transglutaminase (tTG) IgA

Deamidated Gliadin Peptide (DGP) IgA and IgG

Total serum (IgA)

From what I have seen, it appears that the EMA IgA involves a more sophisticated test of the antibodies, but I'm sure some of the experts in the group can correct me/offer additional insight. You should be able to check your husband's lab results against this list to determine how thorough they are. (However, since you only quoted two numbers, it seems clear that some additional testing may be in order.)

Hope this helps!

[mushroom]

Without knowing the ranges the lab uses for these tests, (and what tests they were) it is impossible to comment. It sounds like they did the fourth and sixth tests in the list, the tTG and the total serum IgA which is the validator that you produce normal quantities of the IgA antibody. The tTG is the doctors' favourite test, but not the most specific for celiac, which is the DGP. The tTG relates solely to intestinal symptoms whereas celiac can affect different parts of the body instead or as well.

If I were you I would get a copy of the test results, and I would ask them to run the DGP. However, it is perfectly possible for your husband to be gluten intolerant but not celiac.

[dancergirlmom]

Thank you so much to everyone for their responses! I am so overwhelmed - and didn't even know to ask for a copy of the results. So - ok - here's what I've got. They faxed them to us...and they were also checking his cholesterol and stuff - so I think I copied the important things for this discussion. Please let me know what this means, should we be doing other tests, in general - help!

Transglutinase Antibody 8.3 AB/Units Reference Range 0.0-19.9

AB/Units

Negative < 20.0

Weak Positive 20.0-30.0

Moderate to Strong Positive > 30.0

IGA Result 289 Units mg/dL Reference Range 70-400

[psawyer]

Two tests do not make up a complete panel, but those results are in the normal range, in other words, negative.

[dancergirlmom]

Two tests do not make up a complete panel, but those results are in the normal range, in other words, negative.

So - should we request more testing...and if so, what tests? Or do we rule out any type of sensitivity to gluten as the cause of his digestive troubles?

[psawyer]

The complete celiac panel was listed above by basilicious.

The comments by mushroom are on point.

[just me]

I just had to same test done 2 days ago and I too was confused with the numbers. my transglutinase number was 4 and the IGA serum number was 151. So does this mean negative? Please advise. Thanks

[mushroom]

lWith the ranges most labs use, the numbers you gave are within the normal variation, and therefore negative, although you really should check the lab ranges as the raw scores mean nothing without those.

Welcome to the board, and feel free to ask any further questions.