Gluten Immunogenic Peptides Are Not Correlated With Reported Adherence to Gluten-Free Diet in Children With Celiac Disease.

OBJECTIVE: There is no gold standard to assess adherence to gluten-free diet (GFD) among patients with celiac disease (CeD). Gluten immunogenic peptides (GIPs) in urine and stool were suggested as novel markers for evaluating adherence to GFD. Our aim was to assess the presence of GIP in pediatric patients with CeD, and to compare the results with alternative methods for evaluating GFD adherence. METHODS: Pediatric patients diagnosed with CeD, who were on GFD for at least 1 year, were enrolled and followed prospectively between November 2018 and January 2021. Study visits included clinical assessment, a dietitian interview, Biagi score, food questionnaires, anthropometric and laboratory measurements, and urine and stool samples obtained for laboratory GIP analysis. RESULTS: The study included 74 patients (63.5% females), with median (interquartile range, IQR) age of 9.9 (7.8-11.7) years, and median (IQR) duration on GFD of 2.5 (2-5.5) years. Good GFD adherence, assessed by Biagi score, was reported in 93.1% of cases. GIP was evaluated during 134 visits, with GIP detected in 27 of 134 (20.1%) of the visits (16.3% of stool samples and 5.3% of urine samples). Positive GIP results were significantly more common in males compared to females (30.6% vs 14.1%, respectively, P < 0.05). Detection of positive GIP was not associated with dietary assessment of GFD adherence, celiac serology results, or reported symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Stool and urine GIP can be detected in children with CeD, even when dietary assessment indicate good adherence to GFD. The role of GIP testing in clinical practice should be further explored.

Body composition correlates with laboratory parameters and disease severity in infants with biliary atresia.

AIM: Infants with biliary atresia (BA) generally have chronic malnutrition. However, the best anthropometric measure to assess malnutrition and its correlation with disease severity is unknown. We aimed to assess correlations of various anthropometric measurements, including air displacement plethysmography (ADP), with laboratory parameters and with the pediatric end-stage liver disease (PELD) score in infants with BA. METHODS: Infants with BA were followed at a pediatric liver transplantation center during 2014-2018. Follow-up comprised laboratory tests and nutritional assessment by a dietitian including dietary intake, weight, height, mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), and skin-fold thickness. Fat-free mass (FFM) and fat mass (FM) were measured by ADP. RESULTS: Forty-three nutritional evaluations were performed in 28 infants with BA (13 boys, 44.4%). The median age was 20.7 weeks (IQR: 13-25.9). Based on the various anthropometry modalities, infants with BA were found to be malnourished on most of the visits; 63% had a MUAC-Z score lower than -2 standard deviations. High serum bilirubin level predicted lower weight for age, length for age, and MUAC-Z. Lower MUAC-Z was associated with a higher PELD score. Neither FM mass nor FFM correlated with PELD or with serum bilirubin level. However, FM correlated with skin-fold thickness-Z and was low in most patients. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of BA infants suffer from malnutrition as assessed by most anthropometrics modalities; low MUAC correlated best with disease severity and serum bilirubin level. Further studies are warranted to determine the contribution of FM measurement by ADP to the anthropometric assessment of infants with BA.