title: Treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis: drugs, diet, or dilation?
abstract: A number of recent studies have demonstrated that a variety of treatments effectively improve symptoms and histology in the majority of patients with eosinophilic esophagitis. Therapeutic options include pharmacologic treatments, such as oral and topical corticosteroids and leukotriene-receptor antagonists. In children, the high response rates to dietary modification and elimination suggest that certain foods may serve as environmental triggers for the eosinophilic infiltration. Because many adults present with strictures, endoscopic esophageal dilation is another management modality. Despite these treatment options, several controversies exist in the recommended treatment strategy. Whether the goal of therapy is resolution of symptoms, tissue eosinophilia, or both remains uncertain owing to the paucity of data on the natural history of the condition. Furthermore, important differences in the clinical presentations of eosinophilic esophagitis in children and adults point toward the possible need for different treatment approaches in the two patient populations.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 North St. Clair Street, Suite 1400, Chicago, IL 60611-2951, USA.
authors.forename: Ameesh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Ikuo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hirano
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004106:Dilatation; D004802:Eosinophilia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D004941:Esophagitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D015848:Interleukin-5 / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D015848:Interleukin-5