Monitoring and Follow-Up of Patients with Celiac Disease

The goals of medical treatment of celiac disease (CD) are to: (1) encourage dietary compliance, (2) manage and monitor symptoms, and (3) prevent and detect associated diseases and/or complications. The underlying aim in the care of patients with CD is to ensure that patients have initial and sustained symptomatic improvement and to prevent long-term sequelae that can result from chronic gluten exposure. Currently, available guidelines on the follow-up of patients with CD are often incomplete or variable, partially due to a dearth of research on this topic. This chapter synthesizes available guidelines and expert opinion to recommend the essential components of medical follow-up of CD patients for practicing physicians.