Noninfectious Inflammatory Conditions

Abstract

This chapter includes the most common esophageal diseases—more common than all the neoplasms combined, more common than Barrett’s mucosa, which is more of a headline grabber. All of these inflammations are due to something other than infection, similar to what happens in the skin, except that most are uniquely esophageal. Reflux-induced inflammation and ulcer complications are included, as is the “trendy” eosinophilic esophagitis. There are even some recently described conditions such as lymphocytic and sloughing esophagitis, which we see fairly often in our practice. We even include a severe destructive inflammation with no record in the literature; we figured it was about time it had a reference.