[The blood-xylose test in childhood: correlation between 1 hour blood-xylose levels and numbers of intraepithelial lymphocytes in intestinal mucosa in celiac disease]

In 59 children who underwent diagnostic small-intestinal biopsies the correlation between the intraepithelial lymphocyte infilration of the distal duodenal mucosa and the blood-xylose concentration 1 h after ingestion of 5 g D-xylose was investigated. 16 patients with active coeliac disease had blood-xylose values below 20 mg%, and the correlation between blood-xylose levels and the numbers of intraepithelial lymphocytes in this same group of patients was found to be highly significant. Provided that the methodology is meticulously followed, it is our experience that the one-hour blood-xylose test, in addition to the clinical investigation, facilitates the decision whether or not to perform a small-intestinal biopsy in the diagnosis and follow-up of coeliac disease in childhood. The test however cannot replace the intestinal biopsy which remains the only acceptable criterion for the diagnosis of this disease.