Could Plummer–Vinson Syndrome Be Associated with Celiac Disease?

Abstract

A 16-year-old female presented to our hospital clinic with a main complaint of difficulty swallowing. She reported mild dizziness and frequent fatigue and denied weight loss, fever, joint pain, or a history of diarrhea. Lab and physical results showed low weight; low hemoglobin, ferritin, and vitamin D levels; and a low red blood cell count. Swallowing assessment showed esophageal webs and swallowing difficulty, especially in the pharyngeal stage, and aspiration. It was initially suspected that clinical manifestations, including esophageal webs, iron deficiency anemia (IDA), and swallowing difficulty, were related to Plummer–Vinson syndrome (PVS). However, further investigations and pathological findings revealed several gastrointestinal manifestations consistent with celiac disease (CD). Based on this finding, the patient began a gluten-free diet for the management of CD. Afterward, she began to gain weight, followed by a resolution of swallowing difficulty. Therefore, clinicians should be familiar with the symptoms of CD when conducting a thorough clinical examination and maintain a high level of suspicion to rule out other causes and reach an accurate diagnosis. It is also recommended to screen all patients presenting with IDA, esophageal web, and dysphagia for CD even in the absence of diarrhea.

Keywords:

• Plummer–Vinson syndrome
• celiac disease
• dysphagia
• esophageal web
• iron deficiency anemia

Ethics Approval

The study was ethically approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University (IRB: 23-0103) and King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz University Hospital (IRB: 23-0029), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Consent to Participate

Written informed consent was obtained from the patient’s guardian to participate and publish this case report. On request, a copy of the written permission is available for review by the Editor-in-Chief of this journal.

Disclosure

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Funding

There is no funding to report.