Barrett's esophagus in children

Abstract

Barrett's esophagus (BE) is a condition of esophageal dysplasia in which the tubular esophagus is lined with columnar instead of squamous mucosa--not with just any type of columnar mucosa, but with a specialized type with goblet cells. It is considered to be an acquired phenomenon secondary to acid exposure from gastro-esophageal reflux (GER). This report shows a review of BE of children and our data about BE from the study of 19 handicapped children with GER. 3 had intestinal dysplasia with goblet cells (BE). The % time of pH under 4 on 24-hour pH monitoring was significantly lower in the patients with esophagitis including BE than in them with normal esophagus. BE of our study seemed to be reversible after the surgery and anti-acid therapy. It is suggested that BE is not a rare condition even in children and biopsy specimens should be taken to establish the diagnosis.