EoE disease monitoring: Where we are and where we are going

Objective: To review literature on various methods of monitoring and characterizing eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) with respect to their validity as well as risk to the patient.

Data sources: A literature search was performed using PubMed with keyword combinations of EoE and monitoring as well as various techniques used for monitoring, including but not limited to, symptoms, endoscopy, histology, fluoroscopy, FLIP, noninvasive monitoring, and biomarkers.

Study selections: Case-control studies, observational studies, peer-reviewed reviews and guidelines, and systematic reviews were selected, reviewed, and summarized here.

Results: A wealth of research regarding monitoring of EoE is currently being undertaken and published. Our review highlights those that have been validated and are currently being used, as well as some that show promise for future monitoring and disease characterization.

Conclusion: Eosinophilic esophagitis is a chronic condition that at this time requires upper endoscopy as the gold standard of diagnosis and monitoring. There is a great need in the field for less invasive monitoring tools and better ways to characterize disease to allow for personalization of therapies.