Osteonecrosis of the femoral head in refractory coeliac disease

Osteonecrosis has been described occurring in many clinical conditions that require steroid administration. Mechanisms by which steroids produce osteonecrosis are not well known and the importance of the underlying disease has been recently emphasized. We report on a 48-year-old woman with coeliac disease who developed osteonecrosis of the femoral head after being treated with steroids for non-response to gluten withdrawal. We stress the possible role of osteoporosis and osteomalacia, frequently found in patients with coeliac disease, in the pathogenesis of this complication, and advise using drugs other than steroids in the treatment of refractory coeliac disease.