[Immunological screening and follow-up of celiac disease: experience of the University Hospital of Marseille].

Purpose: Anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (ATTG) have helped to distinguish atypical and silent clinical forms of celiac disease (CD). Immunological diagnosis or follow-up of the disease is now based in France in first line upon IgA ATTG serum evaluation. In the University Hospital of Marseille, the serological diagnosis of CD had consisted during several years in simultaneous determination of both IgA anti-endomysial antibodies (AEA) and IgA ATTG. In literature, few studies focused on the concordance between the two tests and a very few epidemiological data about CD in France are available.

Methods: Five thousand nine hundred and eighty-one patients for whom both AEA and ATTG testing were available were retrospectively included. Characteristics of this cohort were detailed. We numbered and analyzed especially bioclinical charts from patients with AAE/AATG discordance.

Results: Among our patients, all ages and all medical subspecialties were represented. Eighty-five new cases of CD were identified. Among the 6516 serum evaluations performed, only 31 tests were discordant.

Conclusions: Our data give information about CD epidemiology in France. They support the contention that ATTG have to be evaluated in first line for CD diagnosis.