Ten Years in a Pediatric Center: Detecting Esophageal Pathology and Symptoms in Aerodigestive Patients

Background and Aims: Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) share overlapping gastrointestinal and pulmonary manifestations, often complicating timely diagnosis. Aerodigestive evaluation integrates endoscopic and bronchoscopic approaches to better characterize these patients, yet data on esophageal pathology frequency and associated symptomatology in pediatric patients remain limited. Methods: We performed a retrospective cross-sectional chart review of pediatric patients (ages 1-18) who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy with biopsy and bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) between 2013 and 2023 at a tertiary care center. Patients were classified as having EoE (≥15 eosinophils/high power field [hpf]), GERD-associated esophagitis (