The first experience of eosinophilic esophagitis in Turkish children

Eosinophilic esophagitis is a rare allergic disease of the esophagus with no published data in Turkish children.

This is an observational study of children diagnosed as eosinophilic esophagitis in our hospital between February 2009 and January 2011. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical features, allergic work-up, endoscopic and histological findings, and response to treatment.

We followed seven patients in this period with a histopathologic diagnosis of eosinophilic esophagitis. The mean age at diagnosis was 5.05±2.97 years (range: 1-9 years), and four of them were male. The most frequent symptom was gastroesophageal reflux disease-like symptoms (vomiting, regurgitation, and heartburn) (42.9%). Peripheral eosinophilia and high serum total IgE levels were found in four patients (57.2%). Sensitization to food (71.4%) was more frequent than that of aeroallergens (28.6%). Endoscopic findings suggestive of eosinophilic esophagitis were present in four patients (57.2%). Comorbid allergic disease was present in five patients (71.4%). All patients were treated by elimination diet (85.7%) and/or inhaled corticosteroid treatment (71.4%). The mean follow-up period was 12.4±6.1 months (range: 6-24 months). All but one patient showed complete clinical response to their treatment. No significant side effect was observed during the follow-up period.

Eosinophilic esophagitis is a rare gastrointestinal allergic disorder frequently comorbid with other allergic diseases and with different manifestations and response profiles to treatment modalities.