[Celiac disease: correlation of different diagnostic methods (author's transl)].
The results of four diagnostic tests have been critically evaluated (xylosemia, serum Ig A level, steatorrhea, X-Ray of the digestic tract) in 80 cases of atrophy of the small intestinal mucosa discovered by biopsy, and in 20 cases in which the biopsy has proved normal. In the celiac subjects the best correlation with the biopsy was found with xylosemia (90%), followed by serum Ig A (87%), by X-Ray of the digestive tract (86%) and finally by steatorrhea (59%). Even in cases without histological alteration of the mucosa, and xylosemia proved abnormal in 70% of the cases, the seric IgA resulted higher greater than 2 delta in 35%, the steatorrhea in 29% while the X-Ray of the digestive tract has never given a false diagnosis. The presence of false negative or positive results in all four tests (except the radiological tests) reconfirms the absolute necessity for biopsy of the digestive tract in the diagnosis of celiac disorder, and has led the AA. Carry out whenever possible the xylosemia, the steatorrhea and the serum IgA level because in none of the 80 cases of celiac disorder has there been a false negative result in all three such tests at the same time.