Intraepithelial Lymphocyte Cytometric Pattern Is a Useful Diagnostic Tool for Coeliac Disease Diagnosis Irrespective of Degree of Mucosal Damage and Age—A Validation Cohort

Introduction: The study of intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) by flow cytometry is a useful tool in the diagnosis of coeliac disease (CD). Previous data showed that an increase in %TCRγδ<sup>+</sup> and decrease of %CD3<sup>−</sup> IEL constitute a typical CD cytometric patter...

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Main Authors: Pablo Ruiz-Ramírez, Gerard Carreras, Ingrid Fajardo, Eva Tristán, Anna Carrasco, Isabel Salvador, Yamile Zabana, Xavier Andújar, Carme Ferrer, Diana Horta, Carme Loras, Roger García-Puig, Fernando Fernández-Bañares, Maria Esteve
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-05-01
Series:Nutrients
Subjects:
age
sex
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/5/1684
Description
Summary:Introduction: The study of intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) by flow cytometry is a useful tool in the diagnosis of coeliac disease (CD). Previous data showed that an increase in %TCRγδ<sup>+</sup> and decrease of %CD3<sup>−</sup> IEL constitute a typical CD cytometric pattern with a specificity of 100%. However, there are no data regarding whether there are differences in the %TCRγδ<sup>+</sup> related to sex, age, titers of serology, and degree of histological lesion. Study aims: To confirm the high diagnostic accuracy of the coeliac cytometric patterns. To determine if there are differences between sex, age, serology titers, and histological lesion grade. Results: We selected all patients who fulfilled “4 of 5” rule for CD diagnosis (<i>n</i> = 169). There were no differences in %TCRγδ<sup>+</sup> between sexes (<i>p</i> = 0.909), age groups (<i>p</i> = 0.986), serology titers (<i>p</i> = 0.53) and histological lesion grades (<i>p</i> = 0.41). The diagnostic accuracy of complete CD cytometric pattern was: specificity 100%, sensitivity 82%, PPV 100%, NPV 47%. Conclusion: We confirmed, in a validation cohort, the high diagnostic accuracy of complete CD pattern irrespective of sex, age, serology titers, and grade of mucosal lesion.
ISSN:2072-6643