Clinical characteristics of eosinophilic esophagitis in children

The role of eosinophilic esophagitis (EE) in aerodigestive tract disorders in children is underestimated and overlooked, primarily because of a lack of understanding of this disorder by otolaryngologists. We sought to better characterize the clinical presentation of EE in order to increase awareness among otolaryngologists.

We retrospectively reviewed 71 children with biopsy-proven EE to determine the most common symptoms and laboratory findings that should increase the clinical suspicion of EE.

Dysphagia, food impaction, and emesis were the most common symptoms in children with EE. Asthma was the most common airway diagnosis. Rhinosinusitis was the most common otolaryngological diagnosis. Food allergy was present in 60% of the children tested. Eighty-three percent of the children with elevated immunoglobulin E levels had thick linear streaking or patchy white exudate of the esophagus seen on esophagoscopy. Other major medical comorbidities existed in more than half of the children with EE, of which psychiatric disorders and other disorders of the aerodigestive tract were the most common.

Eosinophilic esophagitis may contribute to treatment failure in patients with common and complicated aerodigestive tract disorders. To encourage clinicians to avoid overlooking the diagnosis, we present an evaluative algorithm to increase the suspicion of this entity.