Celiac Disease Part 3

Kayla's Screening

Kayla and her parents went back to her pediatrician to follow up on the results of all three of their blood tests. Although the needle prick did hurt, watching her mom and dad do it first put her at ease. 

Kayla's doctor cut right to the chase and after the results came in there was reason to believe that Kayla may have Celiac Disease. It was necessary to confirm this, however, with a biopsy of her small intestine because although blood tests are good for screening, the best test for diagnosis is an endoscopic biopsy. Kayla was immediately frightened at the thought of those words and she didn't quite know what they meant. 

An endoscopic biopsy in the small intestine, explained Kayla's doctor, is a very short outpatient procedure. This means you won't have to stay in the hospital overnight or even go to a hospital. You can simply go to a clinic. A gastroenterologist will be performing the procedure, and he or she is a doctor specifically for stomachs, digestion, intestines, and all that good stuff. 

So what the gastroenterologist will do is give you medicine so that you won't feel a thing. They'll give you anesthesia and use an endoscope through your mouth to your small intestine. They're going to take pictures of your small intestine to see if the villi are damaged from the gluten in your diet. It is important that you fast before the test. 

Kayla's pediatrician also had some interesting information. She turned to Kayla's dad and told him that his screening also came back with cause of concern. She recommended that he also receive a biopsy. 

Although Kayla and her parents are overwhelmed with the information. They calmly take the pamphlet also provided with information on the outpatient procedure even after the physician walked them through it step by step and make an appointments for Kayla and her father with the outpatient clinic.