Abstract
Among subjects investigated for growth failure we have seen ten, who had no subjective gastrointestinal symptoms, but who were demonstrated to have coeli ac disease. They were 4–19 years of age, and 2–7 S.D. below the height expected for their age and parental heights. In five cases, a history was obtained of a period of diarrhoea in infancy. Five had had an anaemia refractory to iron therapy. Eight had some protuberance of the abdomen. The bone age was markedly lagging in all, by 3–7 years. No consistent chemical abnormality was found: blood hemoglobin and folate, serum iron and TIBC, and fecal fat excretion were abnormal in only 4–5 of the subjects, and all these parameters were normal in two. Three had a subnormal growth hormone response to insulin-arginine test, one of them repeatedly. The diagnosis was based on the demonstration of a flat jejunal mucosa by peroral biopsy. In five, the diagnosis has been confirmed by a significant acceleration of growth after institution of a glutein-free diet. We presently include jejunal biopsy in the routine evaluation for abnormally short stature.
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Perheentupa, J., Verkasalo, M., Kuitunen, P. et al. GROWTH FAILURE FROM SYMPTOMLESS COELIAC DISEASE. Pediatr Res 9, 672 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197508000-00049
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197508000-00049