Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To find out various hematological manifestations among children from South Punjab, having confirmed celiac disease (CD).
METHODS:  This case-control study was done at The Institute of Child Health, Multan, Pakistan, from 1st February 2019 to 31st July 2019. We enrolled 139 children having CD, ranging in age from 1-12 years. An equal number of age and gender matched controls were also enrolled. Haematological parameters were compared between cases and controls.
RESULTS:    Majority (n=83/139; 59.7%) of children with CD were male. Mean age was 8.78±2.4 years. The common hematological manifestations among children with CD were anemia (n=127; 91.4%), thrombocytosis (n=104; 74.8%); leucopenia (n=10; 7.2%) and coagulopathy (n=13; 9.4%). Anemia alone was present in 20 (14.4%) children, anemia plus thrombocytosis in 91 (65.5%) cases, anemia plus leucopenia in 7 (5.0%) cases and anemia along with thrombocytosis and coagulopathy in 9 (6.5%) cases. Out of 127 cases of anemia, iron deficiency anemia (IDA) was noted in 96 (75.6%) cases, vitamin B12 and folate deficiency anemia in 14 (10.1%) cases whereas double deficiency anemia was seen in 17 (13.4%) cases. According to Modified Marsh Scoring, majority (n=46; 33.1%) of children had Type 3a CD. When compared to controls, CD cases had significantly lower haemoglobin, raised platelet count, lower mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) levels (p value<0.0001).
CONCLUSION: In children having CD, hematological manifestations are common. IDA is the most frequent hematological abnormality observed along with thrombocytosis in children with CD. Hematological parameters were significantly impaired among children with CD.