Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is It?Before the ProcedureDuringAfterResultsPossible Complications
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
What Is It?
Before the Procedure
During
After
Results
Possible Complications
Thediagnosisofceliac diseaseusually involves blood tests and an endoscopy. During an endoscopy for celiac disease, your healthcare provider will look directly at your small intestine and take small samples to examine further under a microscope.
This article explains what to expect before, during, and after an endoscopy for celiac disease.
Yakobchuk Olena / Getty Images
What Exactly Is an Endoscopy?
The term “endoscopy” refers to the insertion of a medical instrument called an endoscope through a natural or surgical opening in the body. This instrument allows providers to see that everything is in order, or possibly to identify a problem. Sometimes they even can fix a problem at the same time.
The endoscope is a thin, flexible tube with a fiber-optic light source and a tiny video camera on the tip. Endoscopes have at least one channel through which tiny tools can be passed. These tools can be used to snip off a tiny sample for examination under a microscope, to control bleeding, to remove polyps, to stretch narrowed areas, and for many other therapies.
Endoscopies can be performed in a healthcare provider’s office, an ambulatory surgical center, or a hospital. Where yours is done will depend in part on whether you have other medical conditions that may need special attention.
Before Your Upper GI Endoscopy
Your healthcare provider will give you written instructions in advance on how to prepare, which may include the following:
For an upper GI endoscopy, you willnotneed to drink a polyethylene glycol electrolyte solution the night before as a laxative, as you would if you were having acolonoscopy(which is an endoscopic examination of your colon).
During Your Endoscopy Procedure
Before the procedure begins, your healthcare provider will give you a sedative to help you feel relaxed and drowsy. They may also spray your throat with alocal anestheticso you don’t feel the endoscope go down.
During the procedure:
Usually, an upper GI endoscopy takes 10 to 20 minutes.
How to Prepare for an Endoscopy
After the Endoscopy
When your endoscopy is finished:
Endoscopy Results
Most people get their endoscopy results a few days after the procedure. A healthcare provider will likely call you, or schedule an appointment to discuss the results.
When it can be seen, the finger-likevillistructures on the walls of the intestine, which are responsible for absorbing nutrients, will appear shorter and less pronounced compared to healthy villi. This is known asvillous atrophy. Characteristic changes in the grooves and folds of the intestine may also be visible.
In at least 23% of celiac disease diagnoses, there are no signs of celiac disease visible during the endoscopy. In these cases, the diagnosis is made via the biopsy.
Although unlikely, possible complications associated with upper GI endoscopy include:
Summary
Before your upper GI endoscopy, your healthcare provider will give you detailed instructions on how to prepare. If you are being tested for celiac disease, you will need to eat gluten each day for two weeks before the endoscopy. Before the endoscopy, you will be sedated and given an anesthetic. You may fall asleep during the procedure. You will need someone else to drive you home and shouldn’t make plans for the rest of the day. In many cases, you will know the result of the endoscopy within a few days.
9 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Stanford Medicine.Preparing for an upper endoscopy (EGD).University of Michigan Medicine.Upper endoscopy (EGD) prep instructions.National Celiac Association.Diagnosing celiac disease after going on a gluten-free diet.Gastroenterology Group of Rochester.Upper endoscopy of Rochester.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Upper GI endoscopy.St Marks National Bowel Hospital.Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.Scheppach M, Rauber D, Stallhofer J, et al.Detection of duodenal villous atrophy on endoscopic images using deep learning algorithm.GIE. 2023 May;911-916. doi:10.1016/j.gie.2023.01.006Johns Hopkins Medicine.Upper GI endoscopy.Waddingham W, Kamram U, Kumar B, Trudgill N, Tsiamoulos Z, Banks M.Complications of diagnostic upper gastrointestinal endoscopy: common and rare - recognition, assessment and management.BMJ Open Gastroenterol. 2022;9(1):e000688. doi:10.1136/bmjgast-2021-000688Additional ReadingAmerican Gastroenterological Association fact sheet.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Upper GI Endoscopy fact sheet.
9 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Stanford Medicine.Preparing for an upper endoscopy (EGD).University of Michigan Medicine.Upper endoscopy (EGD) prep instructions.National Celiac Association.Diagnosing celiac disease after going on a gluten-free diet.Gastroenterology Group of Rochester.Upper endoscopy of Rochester.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Upper GI endoscopy.St Marks National Bowel Hospital.Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.Scheppach M, Rauber D, Stallhofer J, et al.Detection of duodenal villous atrophy on endoscopic images using deep learning algorithm.GIE. 2023 May;911-916. doi:10.1016/j.gie.2023.01.006Johns Hopkins Medicine.Upper GI endoscopy.Waddingham W, Kamram U, Kumar B, Trudgill N, Tsiamoulos Z, Banks M.Complications of diagnostic upper gastrointestinal endoscopy: common and rare - recognition, assessment and management.BMJ Open Gastroenterol. 2022;9(1):e000688. doi:10.1136/bmjgast-2021-000688Additional ReadingAmerican Gastroenterological Association fact sheet.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Upper GI Endoscopy fact sheet.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Stanford Medicine.Preparing for an upper endoscopy (EGD).University of Michigan Medicine.Upper endoscopy (EGD) prep instructions.National Celiac Association.Diagnosing celiac disease after going on a gluten-free diet.Gastroenterology Group of Rochester.Upper endoscopy of Rochester.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Upper GI endoscopy.St Marks National Bowel Hospital.Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.Scheppach M, Rauber D, Stallhofer J, et al.Detection of duodenal villous atrophy on endoscopic images using deep learning algorithm.GIE. 2023 May;911-916. doi:10.1016/j.gie.2023.01.006Johns Hopkins Medicine.Upper GI endoscopy.Waddingham W, Kamram U, Kumar B, Trudgill N, Tsiamoulos Z, Banks M.Complications of diagnostic upper gastrointestinal endoscopy: common and rare - recognition, assessment and management.BMJ Open Gastroenterol. 2022;9(1):e000688. doi:10.1136/bmjgast-2021-000688
Stanford Medicine.Preparing for an upper endoscopy (EGD).
University of Michigan Medicine.Upper endoscopy (EGD) prep instructions.
National Celiac Association.Diagnosing celiac disease after going on a gluten-free diet.
Gastroenterology Group of Rochester.Upper endoscopy of Rochester.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Upper GI endoscopy.
St Marks National Bowel Hospital.Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.
Scheppach M, Rauber D, Stallhofer J, et al.Detection of duodenal villous atrophy on endoscopic images using deep learning algorithm.GIE. 2023 May;911-916. doi:10.1016/j.gie.2023.01.006
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Upper GI endoscopy.
Waddingham W, Kamram U, Kumar B, Trudgill N, Tsiamoulos Z, Banks M.Complications of diagnostic upper gastrointestinal endoscopy: common and rare - recognition, assessment and management.BMJ Open Gastroenterol. 2022;9(1):e000688. doi:10.1136/bmjgast-2021-000688
American Gastroenterological Association fact sheet.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Upper GI Endoscopy fact sheet.
American Gastroenterological Association fact sheet.
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
