Prevalence of eosinophilic esophagitis in an adult population undergoing upper endoscopy: a prospective study

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of the esophagus. The purpose of this prospective study was to determine the prevalence and clinical predictors of EoE in patients undergoing elective upper endoscopy.

We enrolled 400 consecutive adults (median age, 50 years; range, 19-92 years) who underwent routine upper endoscopy from March to September 2007 at a tertiary care military hospital. All patients completed a symptom questionnaire. All endoscopic findings were noted. Eight biopsies were obtained from proximal and distal esophagus and were reviewed by a blinded gastrointestinal pathologist. Patients had EoE if > or =20 eosinophils/high-power field were present.

The prevalence of EoE in this cohort was 6.5% (25/385; 95% confidence interval, 4.3%-9.4%). Compared with EoE negative patients, EoE positive patients were more likely to be male (80.0% vs 48.1%, P = .003), younger than 50 years (72.0% vs 48.9%, P = .037), and have asthma (32.0% vs 10.8%, P = .006), a food impaction (32.0% vs 8.9%, P = .002), dysphagia (64.0% vs 38.1%, P = .018), and classic endoscopic findings (rings, furrows, plaques, or strictures) of EoE (all P < .01). Logistic regression identified asthma (odds ratio [OR], 4.48), male gender (OR, 4.23), and esophageal rings (OR, 13.1) as independent predictors of EoE. The presence of classic endoscopic findings of EoE had a sensitivity of 72% (54%-88%), specificity of 89% (87%-90%), and negative predictive value of 98% (95.6%-99.1%).

The prevalence of EoE in an outpatient population undergoing upper endoscopy was 6.5%. The characteristic findings of EoE patients included male gender, history of asthma, and the presence of classic findings of EoE on endoscopy, which is the strongest predictor of this disease process.