الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Under physiological conditions, eosinophils are present throughout the gastrointestinal tract except the oesophagus. Several conditions are associated with oesophageal eosinophilia (EE), some of them are frequent in clinical settings such as eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE) and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD). Aim of the work: the aim of the work was to detect the prevalence of oesophageal eosinophilia in patients with upper GI symptoms referred for diagnostic upper GI endoscopy. Subjects and methods: It was a cross-sectional study that included 86 adult patients with unexplained upper GI symptoms referred for diagnostic upper GI endoscopy at Mansoura Specialized Medical Hospital in the period from November 2019 to November 2020. All patients were subjected to careful history taking, physical examination, laboratory tests including complete blood count (CBC), differential leucocytic count, abdominal ultrasound, upper GI endoscopy, biopsy and lastly, histopathological examination by staining the biopsies with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E). On the high power field, the pathologist counted the eosinophils. The presences of more than 15 eosinophils/HPF was diagnostic for EoE and presence of less than 15 eosinophils/HPF indicates low-grade EE. Results: In our study, we found EE in 26 patients (30.2%): 3 patients (3.5%) had EoE and 23 patients (26.7%) had low-grade oesophageal eosinophilia. EoE patients were 3 males and had dysphagia but no history of atopy. 2 EoE patients had fixed rings while 1 patient had normal appearing mucosa. There is statistically significant correlation between EE and proportions of male sex, hypertension, dysphagia, hiatus hernia, incompetent cardia and fixed rings. Age, incompetent cardia and dysphagia were statistically significant independent predictors of low-grade EE. Conclusion: EE was found in 26 patients (30.2%): 3 patients (3.5%) had EoE and 23 patients (26.7%) had low-grade EE. Many predictors for low-grade EE had been identified. Low-grade EE clinical significance is still not clearly defined and further studies are recommended. Oesophageal biopsies have an important role in the diagnosis of various upper GI disorders.