Eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders in childhood

Eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders are a group of chronic inflammatory conditions characterised by the presence of eosinophilic infiltrates in the gastrointestinal wall. These disorders include eosinophilic esophagitis, eosinophilic gastritis, eosinophilic gastroenteritis, eosinophilic enteritis, and eosinophilic colitis. Their incidence is increasing, with eosinophilic esophagitis known to be the most common form. The etiopathogenesis of eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders is not fully understood, and most likely associated with an abnormal immune response to food and/or inhalant allergen. They are often accompanied by allergies. Clinical symptoms, especially in the youngest children, are non-specific and depend on the gastrointestinal segment involved. These are most often feeding difficulties and regurgitation in infants, and heartburn, chest pain, dysphagia and food bite impaction in adolescents and adults. Except for eosinophilic esophagitis, there are no uniform diagnostic or therapeutic guidelines for eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders. Diagnosis is challenging and it is based on the coexistence of clinical, endoscopic and histopathological symptoms and the exclusion of secondary causes of gastrointestinal eosinophilic infiltration. Treatment involves the use of proton pump inhibitors, an elimination diet, or glucocorticoid therapy. Endoscopic or surgical treatment may be necessary in some cases. Clinical remission does not correlate with histopathological remission, therefore monitoring of therapeutic effects requires multiple endoscopies with histopathological assessment of specimens. The aim of this paper was to present the current data on the incidence, diagnosis and treatment of eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases in children.