Celiac disease: What the Indian pediatricians know about the disease

AbstractTo ascertain the knowledge, awareness, and practices pertaining to celiac disease (CD) among the Indian pediatricians. A survey link containing a questionnaire  was shared through electronic mail using a pediatric database. The survey was kept active for 6 months; all responses received at the end of the survey were analyzed. Two hundred and seventy one pediatricians out of more than 10,000 chose to respond to the survey. Most pediatricians agreed that m ore patients with CD are being diagnosed than earlier. The reasons for higher detection of CD were perceived to be higher index of clinical suspicion by pediatricians (86.7%) followed by increased awareness among parents (45.8%). Most pediatricians opined that clinical manifestations which prompted to a diagnosis of CD were failure to thrive (96.2%) and chronic diarrhea (81.4%). Knowledge about atypical manifestations of celiac disease was low.  Though knowledge about the common association of CD with type 1 diabetes (62.1%) and autoimmune hepatitis (55.8%) was there, awareness about its as sociation with other uncommon conditions was lacking. Though 68% of the pediatricians were of the opinion that the confirmation of diagnosis by a mucosal biopsy is necessary, 26.5% of respondents believed that only a positive serology was sufficient for a diagnosis. A trial of gluten-free diet (GFD) was thought to be a logical step if serology was positive by 31.3% of respondents. While 87.7% of pediatricians advocated lifelon...
Source: Indian Journal of Gastroenterology - Category: Gastroenterology Source Type: research