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Refractory celiac disease: An unusual disease in a Chinese patient
Author(s) -
LOK Ka Ho,
YEUNG Hon Cheung,
LI Kam Fu,
LI Kin Kong,
SZETO Ming Leung
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of digestive diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.684
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1751-2980
pISSN - 1751-2972
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-2980.2008.00353.x
Subject(s) - medicine , disease , refractory (planetary science) , astrobiology , physics
Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disease characterized by mucosal inflammation and villous atrophy of the small bowel upon exposure to ingested gluten. Although common in developed countries, it is extremely rare in the Chinese population. Refractory celiac disease (RCD) is a rare complication of CD with poor prognosis. Patients may die of severe malabsorption or development of enteropathy‐associated T‐cell lymphoma. We report a case of RCD in a Chinese woman who required steroid therapy in addition to a gluten‐free diet to induce disease remission. The possibility of CD in Chinese patients should not be overlooked.