Eosinophilic Esophagitis Diagnosis & Tests

 

EoE Tests Help Distinguish It From GERD

 

EoE is a complex condition and accurate diagnosis a challenge. It is often mistaken for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) because symptoms can be similar. Most children with eosinophilic esophagitis have multiple food allergies, including milk and wheat.

ENDOSCOPY AND BIOPSY TO DIAGNOSE EOSINOPHILIC ESOPHAGITIS

ENDOSCOPY AND BIOPSY TO DIAGNOSE EOSINOPHILIC ESOPHAGITIS

Diagnosis of EoE is made by endoscopy and biopsy. An endoscopy is a medical procedure that allows your doctor to look inside the digestive tract. A thin, flexible, lighted tube called an endoscope is guided into the mouth and throat, then into the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum (beginning of the small intestine). The endoscope allows your doctor to view the inside of these organs. They can also feed instruments through the scope to remove a small sample of tissue. Viewing this biopsy, the doctor takes an average of the number of eosinophils that can be seen in one microscope frame. A high number, such as 15 or more, would indicate EoE.

TESTS USED BY HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS TO DIAGNOSE EoE AND OTHER ALLERGIES

TESTS USED BY HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS TO DIAGNOSE EoE AND OTHER ALLERGIES

Once EoE is diagnosed, it's important to understand what foods are triggering the allergy. For this, you may be referred to a board-certified allergist or gastroenterologist. Some of these healthcare professionals even specialize in EoE.

Here are some tests that may be use to help identify possible food allergies for patients with EoE:

Trial Food Elimination

Suspected foods are removed from the diet to see if signs and symptoms of food allergy improve or resolve.

Food Reintroduction

After eliminating the suspected culprit(s), foods are added back, one by one, to see if signs and symptoms of food allergy come back.

Blood Tests

Some tests use a patient's blood to see if a food is likely to cause an allergic reaction.

Skin Prick Test

The skin is pricked to introduce a small amount of the potential allergen under the skin, in close contact with the immune system. Any reaction is noted.

Atopy Patch Test

A small amount of potential food allergens is placed against the skin for several days, then observed for reactions.

Testing Elimination Diets For Eosinophilic Esophagitis to Identify Food Triggers

Testing Elimination Diets For Eosinophilic Esophagitis to Identify Food Triggers

The only way to be sure a food is a trigger for EoE is to eliminate the food. If symptoms resolve and there’s a decrease in the eosinophils in the esophagus, you have likely found a culprit. An elimination diet is a systematic way to check for common food allergies. Afterward, when a trigger food is reintroduced to the diet, symptoms should recur and the number of eosinophils in the esophagus should rise.

Eosinophilic Esophagitis Products

Talk to your healthcare provider to determine which Neocate products are right for you.

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