Shape of Barrett's epithelium is associated with prevalence of erosive esophagitis.
OBJECTIVE
To test the hypothesis that the shape and length of Barrett's epithelium are associated with prevalence of erosive esophagitis.


METHODS
A total study population comprised 869 patients who underwent endoscopy during a health checkup at our hospital. The presence and extent of Barrett's epithelium were diagnosed based on the Prague C & M Criteria. We originally classified cases of Barrett's epithelium into two types based on its shape, namely, flame-like and lotus-like Barrett's epithelium, and into two groups based on its length, its C extent < 2 cm, and > or = 2 cm. Correlation of shape and length of Barrett's epithelium with erosive esophagitis was examined.


RESULTS
Barrett's epithelium was diagnosed in 374 cases (43%). Most of these were diagnosed as short-segment Barrett's epithelium. The prevalence of erosive esophagitis was significantly higher in subjects with flame-like than lotus-like Barrett's epithelium, and in those with a C extent of > or = 2 cm than < 2 cm.


CONCLUSIONS
Flame-like rather than lotus-like Barrett's epithelium, and Barrett's epithelium with a longer segment were more strongly associated with erosive esophagitis.
Akiyama
Tomoyuki
T
Gastroenterology Division, Yokohama City University School of Medicine, 3-9 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan.
Inamori
Masahiko
M
Iida
Hiroshi
H
Endo
Hiroki
H
Hosono
Kunihiro
K
Sakamoto
Yasunari
Y
Fujita
Koji
K
Yoneda
Masato
M
Takahashi
Hirokazu
H
Koide
Tomoko
T
Tokoro
Chikako
C
Goto
Ayumu
A
Abe
Yasunobu
Y
Shimamura
Takeshi
T
Kobayashi
Noritoshi
N
Kubota
Kensuke
K
Saito
Satoru
S
Nakajima
Atsushi
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001471:Barrett Esophagus / Q000145:classification / Q000473:pathology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004941:Esophagitis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D004947:Esophagus / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies