Association of Immune Thrombocytopenia and Coeliac Disease in Children (Retrospective Case Control Study).

Objective The association between coeliac disease (CD) and immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is still uncertain. The aim of this study was to characterize the coexistence of these two diseases in Italian children. Materials and Methods This is a multicenter retrospective study investigating the occurrence of CD in 28 children with ITP diagnosed from January 1th 2000 to December 31th 2019. Results The first diagnosis was ITP in 57.1% and CD in 32.1% of patients. In 3 patients (10.7%) the two diagnosis were simultaneous. All the potential and silent CDs in our cohort were diagnosed in the groups of ITP first and simultaneous diagnosis. In all children ITP was mild and in 2 out of 8 not recovered from ITP at the time of CD diagnosis a normalization of platelet counts (> 100,000/mmc) occurred after 3 and 5 months from starting gluten free diet. Discussion We think that screening for celiac disease should be considered in children with ITP, regardless the presence of gastrointestinal symptoms. Furthermore some patients could recover from ITP after starting gluten-free diet.