Splenic volume differentiates complicated and non-complicated celiac disease

Background Studies in small groups of patients indicated that splenic volume (SV) may be decreased in patients with celiac disease (CD), refractory CD (RCD) type II and enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma (EATL). Objective The objective of this article is to evaluate SV in a large cohort of uncomplicated CD, RCD II and EATL patients and healthy controls. Methods The retrospective cohort consisted of 77 uncomplicated CD (of whom 39 in remission), 29 RCD II, 24 EATL and 12 patients with both RCD II and EATL. The control group included 149 healthy living kidney donors. SV was determined on computed tomography. Results The median SV in the uncomplicated CD group was significantly larger than in controls (202 cm3 (interquartile range (IQR): 154–275) versus 183 cm3 (IQR: 140–232), p = 0.02). After correction for body surface area, age and gender, the ratio of SV in uncomplicated CD versus controls was 1.28 (95% confidence interval: 1.20–1.36; p