ADULT CELIAC-DISEASE - CLINICAL-FEATURES IN PATIENTS SEEN IN WESTERN REGION, SAUDI-ARABIA

Objectives: To study the clinical features of coeliac disease in adult patients. Design: Retrospective study of adult patients who were diag nosed as having coeliac disease over a period from 1988 to 1994. Setti ng: King Khalid National Guard Hospital, Jeddah. Subject & Outcome: Si x patients were diagnosed as having coeliac disease. The presenting fe atures were mainly extra-intestinal. Osteomalacia was observed in all patients, followed by anemia and severe liver disease related to coeli ac disease. Dermatitis herpetiformis was seen in one patient. Response to gluten free diet (GFD) alone was seen in three patients. The addit ion of steroids was required in the other three patients due to poor c linical response to diet alone. No malignancy was observed in follow-u p period averaging four years. Conclusions: Clinical presentation of c oeliac disease in adults differs from that of children. The presenting features were mainly extra-intestinal.