SWALLOWING DIFFICULTIES:
EOSINOPHILIC ESOPHAGITIS?
SWALLOWING DIFFICULTIES:
EOSINOPHILIC ESOPHAGITIS?
SWALLOWING
DIFFICULTIES:
EOSINOPHILIC
ESOPHAGITIS?
How is eosinophilic esophagitis treated?
Three different treatment options are currently available: The first one is medication with locally acting steroid preparations, which reduce the inflammation, and proton pump inhibitors. The latter are usually used to inhibit the secretion of gastric acid. The second option involves special diets, that avoid certain food allergens. The third option is dilation of the oesophagus preparations with an endoscopic procedure.
Treatment depends on the stage of the disease: medication and diet for acute inflammation in the early stages, dilation in advanced stages when narrowing of the oesophagus has occurred.
Acute inflammation
Acute inflammation is mostly treated with medication and diet. These therapies also help to minimise the high risk of narrowing (stricture formation) and potentially irreversible scarring of the oesophagus that is associated with EoE which has been left untreated for a prolonged period of time.
Advanced disease
If the diagnosis of EoE has been delayed, or it does not respond to medication and/or diet, severe narrowing of the oesophagus can occur. This will require dilation, whereby the constricted segment is carefully dilated during an endoscopic procedure. This is normally carried out under deep sedation but without a general anaesthetic. You will be given pain relief after the procedure and for several 200708_drfalkpharma_eoe_website_sitemap‐and‐text_en_AKU Seite 15 von 24 days afterwards. Pain and other symptoms usually disappear 2‐3 days after the procedure, but symptoms may recur over time.
Long‐term treatment
Currently EoE cannot be cured with either medication, diet or dilation. If anti‐inflammatory treatment is discontinued, inflammation tends to flare up again after a few months and the usual symptoms may recur. It is therefore recommended that you are routinely monitored by your doctor and have regular check‐ups. That is because you might not experience any symptoms even though the inflammation has recurred. It is quite possible to have mild inflammation of the oesophagus without noticing. A follow‐up endoscopy should also be carried out approx. 6‐12 weeks after the start of treatment to see if it is having an effect.