Dietary considerations before undertaking serological testing for Coeliac disease

• dietary considerations before testing for coeliac disease
  • for people undergoing investigations for coeliac disease: people who are following a normal diet (containing gluten) should be advised to eat some gluten in more than 1 meal every day for at least 6 weeks before testing. If people who have restricted their gluten intake or excluded gluten from their diet are reluctant or unable to re-introduce gluten into their diet before testing: Do not offer serological testing for coeliac disease in infants before gluten has been introduced into the diet
    • any test is accurate only if a gluten-containing diet is eaten during the diagnostic process and
    • the person should be advised not to start a gluten-free diet until diagnosis is confirmed by a specialist, even if the results of a serological test are positive
      
      
    • refer the person to a gastrointestinal specialist and
    • explain that it may be difficult to confirm their diagnosis by intestinal biopsy
      
      

Reference:

• NICE (September 2015). Coeliac disease: recognition, assessment Coeliac disease: recognition, assessment and management.