Clinical, endoscopic, and histologic findings distinguish eosinophilic esophagitis from gastroesophageal reflux disease.
OBJECTIVE
Features of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) overlap; because they cannot be differentiated on the basis of eosinophil counts alone, it can be a challenge to distinguish these disorders. We aimed to characterize the clinical, endoscopic, and histologic features of EoE and GERD and to identify factors that might be used to differentiate them.


METHODS
We performed a retrospective case-control study on data collected from 2000 to 2007. Cases were patients of any age with EoE, as defined by recent consensus guidelines; controls were patients of any age with GERD. Clinical and endoscopic data were collected, and all esophageal biopsy specimens were reassessed by gastrointestinal pathologists. Cases and controls were compared, unconditional logistic regression was performed to develop a model to predict EoE, and receiver operator characteristic curves were constructed.


RESULTS
Data from 151 patients with EoE and 226 with GERD were analyzed. Compared with GERD, features that independently predicted EoE included younger age; symptoms of dysphagia; documented food allergies; observations of esophageal rings, linear furrows, white plaques, or exudates by upper endoscopy; an absence of a hiatal hernia, observed by upper endoscopy; a higher maximum eosinophil count; and the presence of eosinophil degranulation observed in biopsy specimens. The area under the curve for this model was 0.934.


CONCLUSIONS
We identified a set of readily available and routinely measured variables that differentiate EoE from GERD. Use of this type of analysis with patients suspected to have EoE might lead to more accurate diagnoses.
Dellon
Evan S
ES
Center for Esophageal Diseases and Swallowing, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA. edellon@med.unc.edu
Gibbs
Wood B
WB
Fritchie
Karen J
KJ
Rubinas
Tara C
TC
Wilson
Lindsay A
LA
Woosley
John T
JT
Shaheen
Nicholas J
NJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D016099:Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal / Q000379:methods; D004941:Esophagitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005764:Gastroesophageal Reflux / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006651:Histocytochemistry / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult