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Clinical characteristics of Japanese patients with eosinophilic esophagitis and eosinophilic gastroenteritis

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Abstract

Background

The clinical characteristics of Japanese patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EGE) have not been fully clarified. For understanding the pathogenesis as well as providing support for accurate diagnosis, precise information regarding clinical characteristics of these diseases is important.

Methods

A questionnaire-based survey of EoE and EGE was conducted in 1,078 teaching hospitals. Clinical data of patients with confirmed EoE or EGE diagnosed from 2004 to 2009 were collected.

Result

Clinical data from 26 patients with EoE and 144 patients with EGE were collected. The mean ages of patients in both groups were in the 40s. Those with EoE frequently complained of dysphagia and heartburn, and had characteristic endoscopic features such as longitudinal furrows and multiple concentric rings in the esophagus, while only 34 % had peripheral eosinophilia. Patients with EGE frequently complained of abdominal pain and diarrhea, and approximately 80 % of them have peripheral eosinophilia. They did not have characteristic endoscopic features helpful for diagnosis. Computed tomography (CT) findings and the presence of peripheral eosinophilia were diagnostic for EGE. EGE patients with a small intestinal involvement showed the highest peripheral eosinophil counts. Glucocorticoid administration was the most widely used treatment for these diseases and its effect was favorable for at least induction of remission.

Conclusion

EGE is more prevalent than EoE in Japan. Patients with EGE have abdominal pain and diarrhea, high peripheral eosinophil counts, and gastrointestinal wall thickening identifiable by CT findings, while EoE is characterized by dysphagia and characteristic endoscopic features.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Japanese gastroenterologists who sent clinical and laboratory data of their patients with EoE and EGE. This study was supported by a grant from the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare of Japan.

Conflict of interest

We have no COI with any commercial groups concerning the manuscript. We, the authors of this manuscript, indicate that we have no financial relationship to any commercial groups. We also state that we have full control of all primary data and that we agree to allow the journal to review our data if requested.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Shimane University School of Medicine, 89-1, Enya, Izumo, Shimane, 693-8501, Japan

    Yoshikazu Kinoshita, Kenji Furuta, Norihisa Ishimaura, Shunji Ishihara & Shuichi Sato

  2. Department of Pathology, Shimane University School of Medicine, Izumo, Japan

    Riruke Maruyama

  3. Department of Gastroenterology, Tohoku Rosai Hospital, Sendai, Japan

    Shuichi Ohara

  4. Department of Medicine and Clinical Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyusyu University, Fukuoka, Japan

    Takayuki Matsumoto

  5. Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan

    Choitsu Sakamoto

  6. Department of Gastroenterology, Fukuoka University Chikushi Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan

    Toshiyuki Matsui & Satoshi Ishikawa

  7. Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Tsutomu Chiba

Authors
  1. Yoshikazu Kinoshita
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  2. Kenji Furuta
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  3. Norihisa Ishimaura
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Correspondence to Yoshikazu Kinoshita.

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Kinoshita, Y., Furuta, K., Ishimaura, N. et al. Clinical characteristics of Japanese patients with eosinophilic esophagitis and eosinophilic gastroenteritis. J Gastroenterol 48, 333–339 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00535-012-0640-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00535-012-0640-x

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