Esophageal inlet patch: Endoscopic prevalence in full sedated patients
and Clinical significance.
Abstract
AİM: To determine the frequency, demographic and clinical features of
the heterotopic gastric mucosa (inlet patch). MATERIALS AND METHODS:
This retrospective study involves 244 patients who applied to the
gastroenterology outpatient clinic with different symptoms between
September 2016 and December 2019, and who were diagnosed with inlet
patch in elective esophagogastroduodenoscopy. All endoscopic procedures
were performed by the same clinical endoscopist. All medical records of
patients including demographic and clinical features and endoscopy
findings were reviewed. RESULTS: Considering 2823 patients who underwent
elective esophagogastroduodenoscopy in the same study period, inlet
patch was detected in 224 (8.6%). 56.6% of the patients diagnosed with
inlet patch were male and there was no statistical difference between
the two genders. The mean age of the patients was 37.73 ± 13.01 years.
83.6% of the patients had only one lesion, and 58.2% had a lesion
larger than 1 cm, with the largest one being 4.5 cm. Size of the
smallest lesion was 0.3 cm. All of the lesions were in the proximal
esophagus. 54 patients (22.1%) had at least one supraesophageal or
upper esophageal symptom. The most common symptom was globus sensation
(64.8%). Patients with large lesions were more likely to experience
symptoms (28.2% vs. 13.7%, p=0.008). CONCLUSION: Careful examination
of the proximal esophagus may increase the chance of detecting inlet
patch and may explain persistent symptoms in patients without a specific
cause. Further understanding of the clinical significance of the disease
may also prevent unnecessary diagnostic interventions.