Age related clinical features of childhood Coeliac disease in Australia

BACKGROUND: To describe the presenting clinical features of coeliac disease in a single paediatric centre, and to determine if the presenting features vary with age. METHODS: A review was conducted of children who had been referred with clinical suspicion of coeliac disease to the paediatric gastroenterology department of a tertiary paediatric hospital in Sydney, Australia. Coeliac disease was defined using standard histological criteria. Medical records were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: Clinical data were available for 74 cases of proven coeliac disease. Only 9% of patients were less than 2 years of age at diagnosis. Pre-school children (age <5 years) presented with different symptoms to school children (age ≥ 5 years). The most common presenting features in younger children were diarrhoea, irritability and weight loss. However, in older children, abdominal pain was the most common presenting feature. CONCLUSION: We found a significant difference in the clinical features of coeliac disease in pre-school compared to school age children.