Original ArticleClinical EndoscopyClinical presentation of patients with eosinophilic inflammation of the esophagus
Section snippets
Patients
The study was conducted at the James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana. After obtaining approval from the Indiana University Institutional Review Board, medical records of patients ≥12 months of age, seen between January 2000 and January 2001, with eosinophils in esophageal mucosal biopsy specimens were reviewed. A physician collected demographic and clinical information that included age; sex; symptoms; allergy history; total serum immunoglobulin
Results
During the study period, 154 patients had ≥1 eosinophil on esophageal mucosal biopsy specimens. Of these, 112 patients met the inclusion criteria. The mean age was 7.5 years (median, 6.9 years; range, 1-21.1 years) and 74 were male (66%). There were 31 patients in group 1, 13 in group 2, and 68 in group 3.
No statistically significant differences in age, sex, or symptoms were noted among the groups, though chest pain/heartburn was more common in group 1, and dysphagia was more common in groups 2
Discussion
The presence of eosinophils within the esophageal mucosa is pathologic.10 While esophageal eosinophilia can be present in a variety of diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease and collagen vascular disease, the most common inciting events encountered in clinical practice are thought to be GER and, more recently, AEE.10, 17 GER results in only a few esophageal eos/hpf, whereas AEE is associated with dense eosinophilic infiltrates.5, 6, 7, 10, 18
Because of the increasing recognition and
Acknowledgments
The authors are thankful for the assistance and the insight provided by Mary Davis, MD (James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children, Division of Pediatric Pathology), Gilbert C. Liu, MD, MS (Indiana University School of Medicine, Children's Health Services Research), and Luke Clapp. Lori Heady provided secretarial assistance.
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