Association of Immune Thrombocytopenia and Celiac Disease in Children: A Retrospective Case Control Study

The association between celiac disease (CD) and immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is still uncertain. The aim of this study was to characterize the coexistence of these two diseases in Italian children.

This is a retrospective multicenter study investigating the occurrence of CD in 28 children with ITP diagnosed from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2019.

The first diagnosis was ITP in 57.1% and CD in 32.1% of patients. In 3 patients (10.7%), the two diagnoses were simultaneous. All the potential and silent cases of CD in our cohort were diagnosed in the groups of “ITP first” and “simultaneous diagnosis”. In all children ITP was mild, and in 2 out of 8 not recovered from ITP at the time of CD diagnosis a normalization of platelet counts (>100,000/μL) occurred 3 and 5 months after starting a gluten-free diet, respectively.

We think that screening for CD should be considered in children with ITP regardless of the presence of gastrointestinal symptoms. Furthermore, some patients may recover from ITP after starting a gluten-free diet.