title: Predictors of specialized intestinal metaplasia in patients with an incidental irregular Z line.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Barrett's esophagus is a well-known complication of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and is associated with dysplasia and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Data on the prevalence of specialized intestinal metaplasia (SIM) in biopsy taken from an incidental irregular Z line are scarce.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prevalence of SIM in biopsies taken from an incidental irregular Z line in consecutive patients undergoing upper endoscopy.
  
  
  METHODS
  During the study period, we identified all adult patients who underwent an upper endoscopy with biopsies from an incidental finding of an irregular Z line. Demographic characteristics, prevalence of endoscopic findings, and major complaints were compared between those with SIM and those without.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 166 out of 2000 (8.3%) consecutive patients were identified. Specialized intestinal metaplasia was found in 43.5% of all cases. Male sex and the presence of hiatus hernia were predictors of SIM (P=0.043 and 0.001, respectively), with relative risks of 2.02 (95% confidence interval: 1.01-4.0) and 3.31 (95% confidence interval: 1.66-6.58), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this endoscopic and histological study, SIM was found to be a common finding in patients with irregular Z line. Male sex and the presence of diaphragmatic hernia were significantly associated with the presence of SIM.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Hospital, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
authors.forename: Ram
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dickman
authors.forename: Zohar
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Levi
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vilkin
authors.forename: Ibrahim
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zvidi
authors.forename: Yaron
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Niv
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001471:Barrett Esophagus / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D001706:Biopsy; D004945:Esophagoscopy; D004947:Esophagus / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005764:Gastroesophageal Reflux / Q000150:complications / Q000208:ethnology / Q000473:pathology*; D006551:Hernia, Hiatal / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008679:Metaplasia; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult