Coeliac Disease In Elderly Patients: Value Of Coeliac Lymphogram For Diagnosis

(1) Background: Although a meta-analysis reported that the sensitivity of CD3+ TCR gamma delta+ cells for coeliac disease diagnosis was >93%, a recent study has suggested that sensitivity decreased to 65% in elderly patients. (2) Aim: To evaluate whether the sensitivity of intraepithelial lymphocyte cytometric patterns for coeliac disease diagnosis changes with advanced age. (3) Methods: We performed a multicentre study including 127 coeliac disease patients >= 50 years: 87 with baseline cytometry (45 aged 50-59 years; 23 aged 60-69 years; 19 aged >= 70 years), 16 also with a follow-up cytometry (on a gluten-free diet); and 40 with only follow-up cytometry. (4) Results: In Marsh 3 patients, a sensitivity of 94.7%, 88.9% and 86.7% was observed for each age group using a cut-off value of TCR gamma delta+ >10% (p = 0.27); and a sensitivity of 84.2%, 83.4% and 53.3% for a cut-off value >14% (p = 0.02; 50-69 vs. >= 70 years), with difference between applying a cut-off of 10% or 14% (p = 0.008). The TCR gamma delta+ count in the >= 70 years group was lower than in the other groups (p = 0.014). (5) Conclusion: In coeliac patients >= 70 years, the TCR gamma delta+ count decreases and the cut-off point of >10% is more accurate than >14%.