Progression from an Inflammatory to a Fibrostenotic Phenotype in Eosinophilic Esophagitis

Abstract

Previous studies have suggested that eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) progresses from chronic inflammation to fibrostenosis. However, natural history data illustrating this progression in individual patients are lacking. Here, we present 6 patients who progressed from an inflammatory to a fibrostenotic phenotype of EoE in the absence of treatment. At the time of diagnosis, none of the patients had significant evidence of fibrostenosis, but they did have other inflammatory findings of EoE such as edema, linear furrows, or exudates. After being lost to follow-up and treatment for an average of 7.8 ± 2.0 years, strictures (n = 5; 83%) or a small-caliber esophagus (n = 4; 67%) were present in a majority of the patients, and the majority required esophageal dilation. These cases confirm that EoE can progress from an inflammation-only phenotype to a fibrostenotic phenotype in certain patients.