The D-xylose Excretion Test in Coeliac Disease in Childhood

Abstract

The use of the xylose excretion test in celiac disease in childhood is reported, employing an oral test dose of 5g. Normal excretion of 25% or above of the administered dose; values below 15% indicate malabsorption; between 15% and below 25% the excretion values may, or may not, indicate malabsorption. This we regard as the equivocal range; in only 5 of our 35 patients did the results lie in this range. The xylose excretion test is an excellent test of malabsorption in childhood; though celic disease is the commonest cause of malabsorption in childhood (fibrocystic disease of the pancreas excluded) a low urinary excretion of xylose does not establish this diagnosis. The results reported have confirmed the known fact that it is common in treated celiac disease for the patients to show normal absorption and excellent nutrition, despite the persistence of abnormal appearances in radiographs of the small intestine and of the celiac change demonstrated histologically in the mucosa of the small intestine.