Eosinophilic Esophagitis: Lessons Learned from Its Evolution

Excerpt

Patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) may have variable presentations that commonly include dysphagia, food impaction, heartburn, regurgitation, and chest pain and may less frequently include abdominal pain, nausea, or failure to thrive, the latter particularly in pediatric populations [1]. Although the recognition and diagnosis of EoE have been rapidly increasing in recent decades (with prevalence estimates of 0.5–1 per 1000) [2], the time from symptom onset to diagnosis, based on milestone studies published over the past three decades, has remained relatively constant, with roughly one-third of patients suffering a diagnostic delay of more than a decade [3]. These regrettably common delays have potentially significant implications for disease progression and patient outcomes, since early diagnosis can enable interventions that decrease the risk of complications, such as fibrostenotic features and food impactions [4‐6]. Given these delays in diagnosis despite improvements in the awareness and recognition of EoE, it is essential to better understand how clinical presentations and disease phenotypes may change over time with the aim of shortening the time to diagnosis and optimizing care of patients with EoE. …