Diagnostic Value of Immunoglobulin G Anti-Deamidated Gliadin Peptide Antibody for Diagnosis of Pediatric Celiac Disease: A Study from Shiraz, Iran

PURPOSE: Screening serologic tests are important tools for the diagnosis of celiac disease (CD). Immunoglobulin (Ig)G anti-deamidated gliadin peptide (anti-DGP) is a relatively new autoantibody thought to have good diagnostic accuracy, comparable to that of anti-tissue transglutaminase (anti-tTG) antibody. METHODS: Pediatric patients (n=86) with a clinical suspicion of CD were included. Duodenal biopsy, anti-tTG, and IgG anti-DGP antibody tests were performed. The patients were divided into CD and control groups based on the pathological evaluation of duodenal biopsies. The diagnostic accuracy of serological tests was determined. RESULTS: IgA anti-tTG and IgG anti-DGP antibodies were positive in 86.3% and 95.4% of patients, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of the IgA anti-tTG test were 86.3%, 50.0%, and 68.6%, respectively, and those of the IgG anti-DGP test were 95.4%, 85.7%, and 90.7%, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.84 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.74–0.91) for IgA anti-tTG test and 0.93 (95% CI, 0.86–0.97) for IgG anti-DGP test. The comparison of IgA anti-tTG and IgG anti-DGP ROC curves showed a higher sensitivity and specificity of the IgG anti-DGP test. CONCLUSION: IgG anti-DGP is a reliable serological test for CD diagnosis in children. High tTG and DGP titers in the serum are suggestive of severe duodenal atrophy. The combined use of IgA anti-tTG and IgG anti-DGP tests for the initial screening of CD can improve diagnostic sensitivity.