Pediatr Gastroenterol Hepatol Nutr.  2020 Jul;23(4):319-328. 10.5223/pghn.2020.23.4.319.

Clinical Manifestations of Eosinophilic Esophagitis in Children and Adolescents: A Single-Center, Matched Case-Control Study

• Roh JH
• Ryoo E
• Tchah H

• KMID: 2504158
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5223/pghn.2020.23.4.319

Abstract

Purpose
To examine the prevalence and clinical manifestations of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) in Korea children.
Methods
The study was designed as a 1:2 matching case-control study. Using information from the endoscopic database of a tertiary center, we retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients aged 18 years or younger who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy between January 2014 and December 2017. A total of 21 patients were diagnosed with EoE based on current diagnostic criteria. In addition, 42 controls with normal esophageal biopsy findings matched to each EoE case by sex, age (±1 months), and season were randomly selected during the study period.
Results
The mean age of EoE diagnosis was 12.1±4.0 years and the male-to-female ratio was 2:1. The proportion of allergic diseases in patients with EoE (28.6%) was higher than that in the controls (6.8%) (p=0.04). Most EoE patients tested for allergy were positive for at least one antigen, which was significantly different to the controls (88.2% vs. 47.4%, p=0.01). Characteristic endoscopic findings of EoE were noted in 19 patients (90.5%), but 2 patients (9.5%) showed normal esophageal mucosa. The clinical symptoms of EoE were improved by a proton-pump inhibitor in 10 patients (50.0%), and by an H2 blocker in 9 patients (45.0%). Only one patient (5.0%) required inhaled steroids.
Conclusion
While EoE is rare in the Korean pediatric population, the results of this study will improve our understanding of the clinical manifestations of the disease.

Keyword

Eosinophilic esophagitis; Child; Adolescent; Korea