Background and aims: The "gold standard" for the diagnosis of celiac disease (CD) is the small intestinal biopsy. A significant number of biopsies are inadequate for interpretation. Furthermore, the labeling of a biopsy as a Marsh I or II is somewhat subjective and may vary with the experience of the pathologist. Our hypothesis is that patients with intact villi undergoing biopsies frequently have associated disaccharidase deficiencies (DSD).
Methods: We reviewed 220 charts of pediatric patients with CD and selected those with a duodenal biopsy Marsh score of I/II. The disaccharidase (DS) levels of these patients were compared with a randomly selected, age-matched control group. DSD is defined as levels below the lower limits of normal.
Results: Lactase (mean lactase = 18.8 in the control group vs. 4.2 in the diseased group, p = 0.004); sucrase (mean sucrase = 46.4 in the control group vs. 21.4 in the diseased group, p = 0.001); maltase (mean maltase = 138 in the control group vs. 52.5 in the diseased group, p = 0.001); palatinase (mean palatinase = 9.6 in the control group vs. 3.3 in the diseased group, p < 0.001).
Conclusion: There is a profound deficiency of DS levels in pediatric patients with CD who have intact villi.