Histologic Evaluation of Celiac Disease: Current Best Practice and the Promise of Digital Quantitative Pathology
This review addresses the practical challenges of histopathologic evaluation in celiac disease diagnosis and management, including biopsy procurement, tissue preparation and reporting standardisation. The authors highlight how the transition to digital pathology enables quantitative histology that could improve monitoring of disease course and the evaluation of both dietary and emerging non-dietary therapeutic interventions.
The original study
Histologic evaluation in the diagnosis and management of celiac disease: practical challenges, current best practice recommendations and beyond.
- Authors
- Chen ZE, Lee HE, Wu TT
- Journal
- Human pathology
- Type
- Journal Article, Review
- PMID
- 35932826
Original abstract
Celiac disease (CD) is an immunoallergic enteropathy affecting genetically susceptible individuals upon dietary exposure to gluten. In current clinical practice, the diagnosis of CD is based on a combination of clinical, serologic, and histologic factors with the possible exception of pediatric patients. Histopathologic evaluation of small intestinal tissue plays a critical role in the disease diagnosis and management, despite many practical challenges. Recently published best practice guidelines help to standardize biopsy sample procurement, tissue preparation, histology interpretation, and reporting, to optimize patient care. In addition, an increasing demand for monitoring the disease course, particularly demonstrating the efficacy of dietary and nondietary interventions for disease management, calls for the use of quantitative histology. With the advent of a gradual transition toward digital pathology in routine diagnostic practice, quantitative histopathologic evaluation in CD shows a promising future.