Screening for celiac disease in short bowel syndrome

Malabsorptive diarrhea due to short bowel syndrome (SBS) results in nutrition compromise, often requiring parenteral nutrition (PN). Activation of latent celiac disease can occur after gastrointestinal surgery. Our objective was to determine whether undiagnosed celiac disease contributes to malabsorption in patients with SBS.

Adult subjects with SBS were tested for celiac disease using immunoglobulin A (IgA) tissue transglutaminase (TTG) antibody and total IgA level. Subjects with an elevated IgA tissue transglutaminase were offered upper endoscopy with biopsies of the duodenum.

Eighteen subjects were enrolled. The subjects were predominantly white, and the most common cause of SBS was Crohn's disease. The mean length of remaining small bowel was 93.1 +/- 54.6 cm. All subjects had undergone surgeries, resulting in loss of the ileocecal valve. Five subjects were found to have an elevated total IgA. A single patient was found to have an elevated IgA tissue transglutaminase antibody, and subsequent endoscopy demonstrated active gastroduodenal Crohn's disease, without features of celiac disease.

No subjects were IgA deficient, but 5 subjects were found to have elevated IgA levels. Undiagnosed celiac disease did not contribute to malabsorption in our small cohort of predominantly white SBS patients. Larger studies are warranted.