Epidemiological, Clinical, Histological, Serological and Therapeutic Study of Children Celiac Disease in Western Algeria Region

Objectives: To determine the epidemiological, clinical, histological, serological and therapeutic profile of celiac disease in children in Western Algeria region.Methods: 250 patients over a period of three years (2016 - 2019) from the pediatric department of the University Hospital of Oran (West Algeria) were included in our retrospective study.Results: We noticed a female predominance with a sex ratio F/M = 1.57. Symptoms were defined by typical (73.2%) and atypical (26.8%) forms, digestive disorders (47.2%), extra digestive disorders (14.4%). Anemia was noted at 73.6%, and the association with autoimmune diseases at 14.8%. Seropositivity was present in 77.6% of cases and histology revealed partial grade villous atrophy at 54%. We noticed a significant link between the histological grade and the serology (p = 0.001), between age and histological grade (p<10-3), between bone age and body mass index (p = 0.017), between the age of onset of the disease and the age of food diversification (p = 0.030), and with the age of breastfeeding (p = 0.026). In addition, we found an excellent correlation between anti-transglutaminase and anti-endomysium autoantibodies during diagnosis and under diet (p<10-3), and between serology during diagnosis and serology under diet (p = 0.002)Conclusion: Celiac disease (CD) of children in western Algeria is characterized by a variety of clinical symptoms. The gluten-free diet remains the only therapy for these affected children. Keywords: celiac disease, children, epidemiology, serology, histology, associated diseases, treatment.