Eosinophilic Esophagitis

There have been significant advances in our understanding of the mechanisms that drive the inflammatory and remodeling consequences of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). We have learned that standardizing definitions has helped clinicians and researchers define adequate therapeutic goals, allowing for a common language to be spoken among physicians. Although not a part of the diagnostic criteria, endoscopic findings play a critical role in the global assessment of disease severity, and are often the first clue to a physician that a patient has EoE. Moreover, initial severity of endoscopic findings has important clinical implications with regard to treatment options, including the need for dilations and predicting the effectiveness of medical therapies. Finally, given the discord between patient-reported symptoms and histologic outcomes, endoscopic features may serve as a more reliable therapeutic marker. Therefore, a comprehensive assessment of a patient's symptoms, histology, and endoscopic findings is critical in ascertaining a global assessment of a patient's disease phenotype to determine an adequate treatment plan.