Clinical features of eosinophilic esophagitis

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) may affect individuals at any age with a predominance for Caucasian males. The clinical manifestation of EoE is strongly age dependent. While dysphagia and food impaction are typical lead symptoms in adults and adolescents, infants often present with unspecific symptoms such as feeding problems, abdominal pain and vomiting. Some EoE patients may also experience heartburn. Therefore, EoE should always be considered in cases of heartburn refractory to antireflux therapy. Concomitant allergic diseases such as asthma, rhinitis and eczema are prevalent. Peripheral eosinophilia and elevated total serum IgE values are found in up to 50 and 70% of cases, respectively. Endoscopic features of EoE are variable and none of them is pathognomonic. Frequent findings are mucosal edema, furrows, exudates and corrugated rings. These endoscopic abnormalities have high specificities (90-95%), but low sensitivities (15-48%). A novel grading and classification system for the endoscopic assessment of EoE has been proposed which includes fixed rings, exudates, furrows and edema as major features. This classification system demonstrated good interobserver agreement among pediatric and adult gastroenterologists, and presents a useful tool to standardize endoscopic assessments and to further investigate the relation between endoscopic manifestation, clinical activity and response to treatment in EoE. Long-term follow-up studies have shown that EoE is a chronic disease causing recurrent dysphagia in the majority of cases. The prevalence of strictures significantly increases with the duration of disease, which stresses the importance of early diagnosis and consequent treatment of EoE.