Clinical description of adults with eosinophilic esophagitis treated at a Chilean university center

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory disease that affects the esophagus. Its epidemiology in Chile and Latin America is unknown due to the absence of population studies. Our aim was to describe the clinical, endoscopic, and histologic characteristics of adult patients diagnosed with EoE, as well as their treatment response.

A descriptive prospective study was conducted on a cohort of patients ≥ 18 years of age with an eosinophil count greater than 15 eosinophils/high power field.

A total of 62 patients were included, 75.8% of whom were men. Mean patient age was 38 years, mean age at diagnosis was 34 years, and diagnosis was made later in men. Sixty-five percent had a concomitant immunoallergic disease, and allergic rhinitis was the most frequent. Dysphagia was the most frequent referral, with a predominance of men. Women presented more often with food allergies and peripheral eosinophilia. The most frequent endoscopic finding was edema, followed by rings, with a mean eosinophilic esophagitis endoscopic reference score (EREFS) of 3.5 and a mean eosinophil count in biopsies of 37.5 eosinophils/high power field. Men presented with a higher EREFS and eosinophil count at diagnosis. All patients received treatment and the most frequent was with proton pump inhibitors, followed by combination treatment with corticosteroids. Endoscopic (partial/total) and histologic response rates were 93.5 and 77%, respectively.

We found characteristics in our cohort similar to those described in international groups. Women presented with greater autoimmune comorbidity, peripheral eosinophilia, and food allergies, but had a lower eosinophil count and endoscopic score. We found no differences between the different therapeutic regimens.