Eosinophilic esophagitis in adults: An ear, nose, and throat perspective

Abstract

Eosinophilic esophagitis is a rather new disease entity diagnosed with increasing frequency. The main symptoms in adults are dysphagia and food impaction. The aim of this review is to summarize the present knowledge about adult eosinophilic esophagitis, and in particular to cast light on certain issues of concern for the ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist. Scientific review. The biomedical literature on adult eosinophilic esophagitis was reviewed regarding epidemiology, etiology, subjective symptoms and objective signs, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis with an emphasis on matters of interest for the ENT specialist. PubMed was used as the search engine. Among the 393 papers on eosinophilic esophagitis published in PubMed, only 162 deal with adults. During the last few decades, the annual number of papers has been exponentially increasing. A high prevalence of eosinophilic esophagitis in combination with a diagnostic delay suggests the existence of an unacceptable number of undiagnosed cases. This calls for increased attention. Endoscopic examination, including proper biopsies, verifies the diagnosis. Untreated, the disease will lead to substantial distress and in some cases even strictures. Keeping the diagnosis in mind will avoid improper treatment and the risk of accidental perforation. It is imperative that ENT specialists recognize patients with eosinophilic esophagitis.