Modern challenges in the diagnosis, follow-up and treatment of patients with Barrett‘s esophagus
Bulgarian Medical Journal, 2024, 18(1), 30-37.
K. Zhelyazkov1, V. Andonov2
1 Military Hospital – Plovdiv, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University – Plovdiv
2 University Hospital “Kaspela” – Plovdiv, Section of Gastroenterology, Second Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University – Plovdiv
Abstract. Barrett‘s esophagus (BЕ) is a serious complication of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) with a different malignant potential, which is characterized by the transformation of its multi-layered flat neurogenic epithelium into a single-row cylindrical stomach or small intestinal epithelium (the so-called specialized-intestinal metaplasia) [1, 2]. The relevance of this complication is determined by many factors. On the one hand, the persistence of reflux symptoms in the majority of patients despite active medical treatment, which worsens their quality of life, the need to conduct regular invasive examinations, and last but not least the related time and financial costs. On the other hand, the appearance of the first esophageal symptoms may be the result of advanced esophageal and/or gastric carcinoma in the course of a preexisting Barrett‘s esophagus [3]. From third – a proportion of patients do not undergo endoscopic examination to verify this complication, due to the absence of any complaints from the gastrointestinal tract. All this makes the diagnosis of Barrett‘s esophagus difficult, and the opinions of gastroenterological societies about the behavior (follow-up and treatment) of these patients are different depending on a number of geographical, ethnic, age and other factors, reflected a little further in the description.
Key words: Barrett‘s esophagus, gastroesophageal reflux disease
Address for correspondence: Konstantin Zhelyazkov, e-mail: konstantin.zhelyazkov@gmail.com