Introduction:
Coeliac disease (CD) is a chronic systemic disorder triggered by ingestion of gluten in generally susceptible individuals and characterised by small intestinal enteropathy. Hypertransaminasaemia is one of the extra-intestinal symptoms of CD, well-defined in adults, but with a limited number of studies from the paediatric population.

Aim of the study:
The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence of abnormal liver enzyme values in newly diagnosed children with CD.

Material and methods:
We retrospectively analysed 168 children with newly diagnosed CD. The diagnosis of CD was detected by serologic testing of coeliac-specific antibodies (anti-transglutaminase antibodies and/or endomysial antibodies) and confirmed by duodenal mucosal biopsies. The blood parameters of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were collected when available at the time of diagnosis from 137 (81.6%) children who we included in the study. This group was composed of 73 girls and 64 boys, 11-202 months old.

Results:
Prevalence of elevated ALT, defined as > 30 U/l, was 30.7%. We found no significant associations between increased transaminase levels and age, gender, or clinical presentation of CD. When we consider a value of > 40 U/l as a definition of elevated ALT, we found a prevalence 10.9%. Children with hypertransaminasaemia were younger (p = 0.01) and more commonly presented gastrointestinal symptoms (p = 0.03).

Conclusions:
Elevated ALT is a common finding in children with CD – more often among younger groups.