Coeliac disease. Haematological features, and delay in diagnosis.

Seventy patients consecutively diagnosed as having coeliac disease were studied with regard to the clinical and laboratory features of related blood disorders and the delays that occurred in making the eventual correct diagnosis. Eighty-four percent of these patients had some readily demonstrable haematological abnormality. Thrombocytosis was present in 44% of the patients appropriately studied and hyposplenism was diagnosed in 21% of the total group. The importance of associating these conditions with coeliac disease has been stressed. The average delay from the time of initial presentation with relevant symptoms to correct diagnosis was 73 months.