Optical coherence tomography in the diagnosis of coeliac disease: a preliminary report

Coeliac disease (CD) is a common condition with many atypical manifestations and an estimated worldwide prevalence of 1 in 266.1 It often goes unrecognised because characteristic histopathological abnormalities must be found to confirm the diagnosis. Endoscopic signs of CD are described in the literature but cannot be relied upon for detection of the disease because their sensitivity and specificity are not high. To investigate CD in every patient undergoing oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (OGD) for dyspeptic symptoms is not realistic, especially if we consider the significant costs of histological handling. Therefore, a way of detecting CD is selection of patients in which biopsies of the duodenal mucosa must be performed. A useful new medical technique, optical coherence tomography (OCT), that combines the principles of ultrasound and infrared backscattering light, …