Caustic Ingestion: A Possible Cause of Eosinophilic Esophagitis?

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an emerging disease in both pediatric and adult patients. It is a chronic disease of the esophagus and refers to intense eosinophilic infiltration limited to the esophageal epithelium in the absence of gastroesophageal reflux disease. In most patients, EoE is thought to be part of an allergic response to food antigens or aeroallergens. One such trigger could be caustic damage of the mucosa. To the best of our knowledge, the following case report describes for the first time the possible association between caustic injury of the esophagus and EoE. Pediatrics 2013;131:e1284–e1287 AUTHORS: Matja z Homan, MD, PhD,a Rok Orel, MD, PhD,a and Chris Liacouras, MDb aUniversity Children’s Hospital, Ljubljana, Slovenia; and bChildren’s Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania