Brief Articles
Copyright ©2009 The WJG Press and Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jul 28, 2009; 15(28): 3511-3515
Published online Jul 28, 2009. doi: 10.3748/wjg.15.3511
Barrett’s esophagus: Prevalence and risk factors in patients with chronic GERD in Upper Egypt
Yasser M Fouad, Madiha M Makhlouf, Heba M Tawfik, Hussein El Amin, Wael Abdel Ghany, Hisham R El-khayat
Yasser M Fouad, Madiha M Makhlouf, Wael Abdel Ghany, Department of Tropical Medicine and Gastroenterology, Minya University, Minya 19104, Egypt
Heba M Tawfik, Department of Pathology, Minya University, Minya 19104, Egypt
Hussein El Amin, Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology Unit, Assuit University, Assuit 17121, Egypt
Hisham R El-khayat, Department of Gastroenterology, Theodore Bilharz Research Institute, Cairo 16234, Egypt
Author contributions: Fouad YM, Makhlouf MM, El-khayat HR and Amin HE did the endoscopic procedures; Tawfik HM performed the pathology experiments; Ghany WA coordinated and provided the collection of the human material; Fouad YM designed the study and wrote the manuscript; All authors cooperated in the analysis of the results and final revision of the manuscript.
Correspondence to: Dr. Yasser M Fouad, Department of Tropical Medicine and Gastroenterology, Minya University, Minya 19104, Egypt. yasserfouad10@yahoo.com
Telephone: +20-11-4721500
Fax: +20-86-7827922
Received: March 26, 2009
Revised: June 10, 2009
Accepted: June 17, 2009
Published online: July 28, 2009
Abstract

AIM: To determine the prevalence and possible risk factors of Barrett’s esophagus (BE) in patients with chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in El Minya and Assuit, Upper Egypt.

METHODS: One thousand consecutive patients with chronic GERD symptoms were included in the study over 2 years. They were subjected to history taking including a questionnaire for GERD symptoms, clinical examination and upper digestive tract endoscopy. Endoscopic signs suggestive of columnar-lined esophagus (CLE) were defined as mucosal tongues or an upward shift of the squamocolumnar junction. BE was diagnosed by pathological examination when specialized intestinal metaplasia was detected histologically in suspected CLE. pH was monitored in 40 patients.

RESULTS: BE was present in 7.3% of patients with chronic GERD symptoms, with a mean age of 48.3 ± 8.2 years, which was significantly higher than patients with GERD without BE (37.4 ± 13.6 years). Adenocarcinoma was detected in eight cases (0.8%), six of them in BE patients. There was no significant difference between patients with BE and GERD regarding sex, smoking, alcohol consumption or symptoms of GERD. Patients with BE had significantly longer esophageal acid exposure time in the supine position, measured by pH monitoring.

CONCLUSION: The prevalence of BE in patients with GERD who were referred for endoscopy was 7.3%. BE seems to be associated with older age and more in patients with nocturnal gastroesophageal reflux.

Keywords: Barrett’s esophagus; Gastrointestinal; Endoscopy; Gastroesophageal reflux; Risk factors