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Screening for coeliac disease in preschool Greek children: the feasibility study of a community‐based project
Author(s) -
KaragiozoglouLampoudi Thomai,
Zellos Aglaia,
Vlahavas George,
Kafritsa Yota,
Roma Eleftheria,
Papadopoulou Alexandra,
Fotoulaki Maria,
Karyda Stavroula,
Xinias Ioannis,
Savvidou Afroditi
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.12241
Subject(s) - medicine , coeliac disease , asymptomatic , population , selective iga deficiency , iga deficiency , pediatrics , disease , immunology , antibody , environmental health
Aim Evaluation of the prevalence of coeliac disease ( CD ) in Greek paediatric population. Methods The project consists of two parts: (i) a pilot study of preschool children aged 2–6 years to test the feasibility and diagnostic accuracy of community‐based screening and (ii) a CD prevalence study, by random clustered sampling and proportionate stratification of various geographical areas in Greece. Trained nonmedical staff performed a rapid immunochromatographic test to detect IgA antibodies to tTG ‐IgA and IgA deficiency. Toddlers with positive results were referred to a paediatric gastroenterologist for further assessment with serum anti‐ tTG IgA and EMA‐IgA. Children with positive serum anti‐ tTG and anti‐EMA underwent upper gastrointestinal tract endoscopy and small bowel biopsy and were subsequently in gluten‐free diet. Results In this project participated 1136 toddlers, who were tested at school. The prevalence of positive rapid anti‐ tTG screening was 1:154, of IgA deficiency 1:120 and of biopsy‐proven CD 1:154. The prevalence of CD from this pilot study served as expected prevalence value for sample size calculation for the main prevalence study. Conclusion This protocol using rapid immunochromatographic test for the detection of both IgA deficiency and CD is easy to be performed by nonmedical staff in a community setting, enabling the accurate identification of new CD cases among asymptomatic population.