Liver involvement in pediatric celiac disease

Table 3 Studies reporting the prevalence of autoimmune hepatitis in children and adolescents with celiac disease

Ref.	Study design	Study population with CD	Diagnosis of CD	Number of patients with AIH	Effect of GFD
Ventura et al[44], 1999	Prospective	909 children and adolescents with CD (group 1, < 2 yr of age; group 2, 2-10 yr; group 3, > 10 yr)	Serology and intestinal biopsy according to the ESPGHAN criteria	10 (1.1%) had AIH, of whom 2.9% in group 2 and 0.8% in group 3	Not available
Di Biase et al[15], 2010	Prospective	350 untreated children with suspected CD aged 1 to 16 yr	Serology and intestinal biopsy according to the ESPGHAN criteria	7 (2.0%) had AIH, of whom 5 type I AIH	During treatment with GFD, steroids and azathioprine for 5 yr, all AIH persistently normalized clinical and biochemical parameters. After withdrawal, 6 patients maintained a sustained remission (12-63 mo)

CD: Celiac disease; AIH: Autoimmune hepatitis; GFD: Gluten-free diet; ESPGHAN: European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition.