Esophagitis: Causes Other Than Reflux

Abstract

Inflammatory processes in the pediatric esophagus have received a disproportionately small amount of attention until recently, when appreciation of their pathophysiology and concordant clinical importance has been highlighted. This increase in interest and exposure is probably a phenomenon secondary to a number of important factors, which include improved diagnostic yield from relatively recent technical advances in areas such as infant and pediatric endoscopy; advances in fields such as mucosal immunology, allowing for the realization that etiopathologic mechanisms for esophagitis are more complex than simple luminal chemical damage; and a shift in clinical opinion recognizing esophageal pathology as a major cause of nonspecific ubiquitous symptoms such as infant colic, feeding disorders, and recurrent abdominal pain among others. A state of knowledge such as this has made pediatric esophagitis, until recently, a relatively underdeveloped area of research and clinical understanding, but this is rapidly changing [1].