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Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Cooling or Warming the Esophagus to Reduce Esophageal Injury During Left Atrial Ablation in the Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: March 15, 2020
Alendronate-induced esophagitis in an elderly woman
Victoria Gómez1, Shu-Yuan Xiao
1Departments of Pathology and Internal Medicine, The University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston, Texas, USA.
Abstract:
Ingestion of alendronate sodium (Fosamax) had been reported to sometimes cause erosive or ulcerative esophagitis. Despite its widespread use and several case reports describing the clinical and endoscopic presentation, there has been limited discussion on the histologic appearances of the esophagitis caused by the medication. Here we describe one case of an elderly woman who presented with alendronate-induced esophagitis. The histopathologic changes that make this case unique are the large, "bizarre" squamous epithelial cells and scattered dyskaratotic cells, two findings not well described in previous reports. These unique features add to the histologic spectrum of alendronate-induced esophageal injury, and shall help differentiating this type of esophagitis from those with other etiologies.
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