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Objective: To evaluate knowledge about celiac disease among pediatricians at a University Hospital in a Brazilian city.Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study, with application of a questionnaire on clinical manifestations and diagnosis of celiac disease to pediatricians and pediatric residents of a university hospital, between March and August 2023.The data obtained were plotted in Excel to characterize the sample and analyze the responses.Results: The questionnaire was answered by 33 pediatricians and pediatric residents.The symptoms most related to celiac disease were chronic abdominal pain (100%), abdominal distension (100%), chronic diarrhea (96.97%) and failure to thrive (87.88%).Regarding risk factors for investigating celiac disease in children and adolescents, 1st and 2nd degree relatives with celiac disease (84.85%) and selective IgA deficiency (75.76%) were most chosen.For initial screening, 75.76% chose the antitransglutaminase IgA serological test and total IgA measurement.When asked to select the correct alternative, 63.63% believe that duodenal biopsy is the gold standard for diagnostic confirmation.42.42% indicated that symptomatic patients, with antitransglutaminase antibodies above 10 times the upper limit, are diagnosed without biopsy, 54.54% stated that it is necessary to measure IgG antiendomysial antibodies in patients with IgA deficiency and 57.57% believe it is important genetic test to exclude false negatives.Discussion: The results show that, despite demonstrating general knowledge about the disease, pediatricians still place little value on atypical symptoms and are not familiar with current guidelines, which corroborates underdiagnosis.
Kock et al. (Wed,) studied this question.