DOENÇA CELÍACA NA VISÃO DE PEDIATRAS GERAIS: UM ESTUDO PILOTO

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.0762412068

• Palavras-chave: Doença Celíaca; Pediatras; Diagnóstico precoce; Criança; Adolescente

• Keywords: Celiac disease; Pediatricians; Early diagnosis; Child; Adolescent

• Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the knowledge that pediatricians at a University Hospital in a Brazilian city have about celiac disease. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study, a questionnaire on clinical manifestations and diagnosis of celiac disease that was applied to pediatricians and pediatric residents of a university hospital between March and August 2023. The obtained data was plotted in Excel to characterize the sample and analyze the responses. Results: 33 pediatricians and pediatric residents answered the questionnaire. The symptoms most related to celiac disease were chronic abdominal pain (100%), bloating (100%), chronic diarrhea (96.97%), and growth failure (87.88%). Regarding factors that pose a risk to the investigation of celiac disease in children and adolescents, 1st and 2nd-degree relatives with celiac disease (84.85%) and selective IgA deficiency (75.76%) were the most chosen. For initial screening, 75.76% chose the IgA anti-transglutaminase serological test and total IgA assay. When asked to mark the correct alternative, 63.63% believed that duodenal biopsy was the gold standard to confirm the diagnosis. 42.42% indicated that symptomatic patients with anti-transglutaminase antibodies above 10 times the upper limit are diagnosed without biopsy, 54.54% stated that it is necessary to measure anti-endomysium IgG antibodies in patients with IgA deficiency, and 57.57% believe that genetic testing is important to exclude false negatives. Discussion: The results show that despite having a general knowledge of the disease, pediatricians still place little value on atypical symptoms and are not familiar with current guidelines, which corroborates underdiagnosis.