1. Empiric 6-food elimination diet induced and maintained prolonged remission in patients with adult eosinophilic esophagitis: A prospective study on the food cause of the disease.
- Author
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Lucendo, Alfredo J., Arias, Ángel, González-Cervera, Jesús, Yagüe-Compadre, José Luis, Guagnozzi, Danila, Angueira, Teresa, Jiménez-Contreras, Susana, González-Castillo, Sonia, Rodríguez-Domíngez, Benito, De Rezende, Livia C., and Tenias, José M.
- Subjects
EMPIRICAL medicine ,DISEASE remission ,EOSINOPHIL disorders ,LONGITUDINAL method ,NUTRITION ,HISTOPATHOLOGY ,THERAPEUTICS - Abstract
Background: Although empiric exclusion from the diet of the 6 food groups most likely to trigger allergies achieves eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) remission in children, data on its prolonged efficacy and effects on adults are lacking. Objective: We sought to evaluate the efficacy of a 6-food elimination diet in inducing and maintaining prolonged remission in patients with adult EoE. Methods: Sixty-seven consecutive patients with adult EoE were prospectively recruited and treated exclusively with a diet avoiding cereals, milk, eggs, fish/seafood, legumes/peanuts, and soy for 6 weeks. Subsequent challenge was undertaken by sequentially reintroducing all excluded single foods, followed by endoscopy and biopsies, which were developed every 6 weeks in case of response (eosinophil peak count reduction to <15/high-power field [hpf]). A food was considered a trigger for EoE and removed from the diet if pathologic eosinophilic infiltration (≥15 eosinophils/hpf) reappeared. Food-specific serum IgE measurements and skin prick tests were performed before initiating the diet. Results: Forty-nine (73.1%) patients exhibited significantly reduced eosinophil peak counts (<15 eosinophils/hpf) before sequential single-food reintroduction. A single offending food antigen was identified in 35.71% of patients, 2 food triggers were identified in 30.95%, and 3 or more food triggers were identified in 33.3%. Cow''s milk was the most common food antigen (61.9%), followed by wheat (28.6%), eggs (26.2%), and legumes (23.8%). Prior allergy tests showed no concordance with food-reintroduction challenge results. All patients who continued to avoid the offending foods maintained histopathologic and clinical EoE remission for up to 3 years. Conclusions: An empiric 6-food elimination diet effectively induced remission of active adult EoE, which was maintained for up to 3 years with individually tailored, limited exclusion diets. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
- Published
- 2013
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