Dysphagia as the Sole Initial Presentation of Celiac Disease

Andrew C. Berry^1, , Rahman Nakshabendi², Ozdemir Kanar², Hussein Abidali³, Ahmad Nakshabandi⁴, Aaron C. Baltz⁵ and James T. Kwiatt⁵

¹Department of Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA

²Department of Medicine, University of Florida College of Medicine-Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL, USA

³Department of Medicine, Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ, USA

⁴Tampa General Hospital, Tampa, FL, USA

⁵GI Associates, Wauwatosa, WI, USA

Cite this paper:
Andrew C. Berry, Rahman Nakshabendi, Ozdemir Kanar, Hussein Abidali, Ahmad Nakshabandi, Aaron C. Baltz and James T. Kwiatt. Dysphagia as the Sole Initial Presentation of Celiac Disease. International Journal of Celiac Disease. 2015; 3(3):108-109. doi: 10.12691/ijcd-3-3-5

Abstract

Several studies have described celiac disease patients presenting with esophageal symptoms. We present the case of a 33-year-old Caucasian woman who presented with three months of strictly dysphagia to solids. She reported no weight loss, abdominal pain, or diarrhea and reported no heartburn symptoms. Labs revealed a tissue transglutaminase IgA of >100 units. Biopsies revealed moderate to severe villous blunting and increased intraepithelial lymphocytosis consistent with Marsh 3 celiac disease in the 2^nd and 3^rd portions of the duodenum. To the best of our knowledge, this case represents the first reported case of dysphagia as initial and sole presentation of celiac disease completely resolved by gluten-free diet.

Keywords:
dysphagia celiac disease esophagogastroduodenoscopy endoscopy

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