Low Frequency of Endoscopic Esophagitis in Asian Patients

Authors:
  • HTH. H. Tay
    H. H. Tay
  • IYI. Yap
    I. Yap
  • RGR. Guan
    R. Guan
  • KLK. P. Lim
    K. P. Lim
  • MMM. V. Math
    M. V. Math
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Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of endoscopic esophagitis in patients seen for upper gastrointestinal complaints in an Asian center. We studied a consecutive series of 11,943 patients undergoing diagnostic esophagogastroduodenoscopy at our unit over a 10-year period. Three hundred and eighty-nine patients (3.3%) had endoscopic esophagitis with no other significant lesion (primary esophagitis), whereas 143 (1.2%) had esophagitis associated with peptic ulcer or gastric or duodenal malignancy (secondary esophagitis). In contrast, peptic ulcer was diagnosed in 2,787 patients (23.3%) and gastric carcinoma in 286 (2.4%). The reported frequency of endoscopic esophagitis among patients undergoing endoscopy in Western countries varied from 9 to 23%. Our data therefore show that endoscopic esophagitis is much less common in Singaporean patients.