• Edoardo Savarino, Salvatore Tolone, Roberta Caccaro, Ottavia Bartolo, Francesca Galeazzi, Loredana Nicoletti, Tiziana Morbin, Lisa Zanatta, Renato Salvador, and Mario Costantini.
• Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy. Electronic address: edoardo.savarino@unipd.it.
• Dig Liver Dis. 2015 Dec 1; 47 (12): 1033-8.

BackgroundLimited data are available on eosinophilic oesophagitis in Italy.AimTo evaluate typical features of eosinophilic oesophagitis patients in a tertiary centre.Methods973 consecutive patients with dysphagia and/or bolus impaction were prospectively enrolled and underwent upper endoscopy for eosinophilic oesophagitis (≥15 eosinophils in at least one high-power field [hpf] and no response to acid suppressants). Demographic and multiple clinical factors were collected.Results45 patients (80% males, mean age 35±16) with incident eosinophilic oesophagitis (mean eosinophil peak count 57.2±40.6/hpf) were enrolled. 32 patients complained of solids dysphagia (71%), and 29 of bolus impaction (64%). Endoscopy found rings in 20 (44%), furrows in 9 (20%), whitish exudates/plaques in 12 (27%), crêpe paper in 7 (13%) and normal findings in 14 patients (31%). Endoscopic and radiologic stenosis occurred in 20 (44%) and 23 (51%), respectively. Ten patients had proton pump inhibitor-oesophageal eosinophilia (22%). Topic fluticasone was effective in 28 of the remaining cases (62%), while 7 required additional treatments (16%).ConclusionEosinophilic oesophagitis prevalence was 12% in patients with dysphagia and/or bolus impaction, emphasizing the importance of this disease in Italy. Despite different environmental factors and dietary habits, Italian patients with eosinophilic oesophagitis present similar characteristics to those of other Western counties.Copyright © 2015 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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