Z Gastroenterol 2004; 42 - 77
DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-826978

Barrett's oesophagus – A follow-up study

G Lakatos 1, L Herszényi 1, I Hritz 1, Z Tulassay 1, L Prónai 1
  • 12nd Dept. Medicine, Semmelweis University, Hung. Acad. Sci., Joint Res. Unit, Budapest

Introduction: We evaluated the progression of Barrett's oesophagus (BO) in Hungarian patients in a follow-up study, considering the demographical distribution of the patients and the presence of possible risk factors.

Methods: Patients with the diagnosis of BO between 1997–1999 (endoscopic and histological confirmation) were included. Patients were invited by postal letter to return to control endoscopy. Control endoscopy was performed in 18 out of 51 patients with the diagnosis of BO (average time after diagnosis: 65 months; male/female: 8/10). During endoscopy biopsy specimens were taken from the suspicious mucosal lesions.

Results: Mean age of the patients by the time of the diagnosis of BO was 55.1 years (31–76 years). 5 patients were H. pylori positive, 7 had a hiatal hernia, 5 patients were smoker and 2 were heavy alcohol drinker. Only 9 patients took PPI regularly. During control endoscopy low-grade dysplasia (LGD) was found in 3/18 cases (male/female: 2/1). Patients with LGD were 13 years older than patients with no dysplasia (71.3 years vs. 58.3 years). High-grade dysplasia (HGD) or Barrett adenocarcinoma (BA) was not found.

Conclusion: LGD occurred in 16.7% of the patients with BO. Patients with LGD were older. No association was found between the risk factors and the possibility of progression.

Supported in part by OTKA Grant No.: T 034345.