The incidence of barret ozephagus in patients admitted to endoscopy unit due to dyspeptic complaints: Endoscopic and histopathological correlation

Introduction: Barrett's esophagus is the condition in which squamous epithelium becomes to a metaplastic columnar epithelium in the distal esophagus. Barrett's esophagus is a premalign condition which plays a pivotal role in the development of esophageal adenocarcinoma. Barret esophagus is thought to be a complication of chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease. In this study, it was planned to determine the frequency of barrets esophagus in endoscopy patients with dyspeptic symptoms and to investigate the frequency of barrets esophagus histopathologically in biopsies taken from mucosa in which define as endoscopically barrets esophagus. Subjects and Methods: In this study, endoscopic data of 41.268 patients older than 18 years of age who were admitted Dışkapı Yıldırım Beyazıt Training and Research Hospital Gastroenterology Clinic with dyspeptic complaints were evaluated retrospectively. Biopsy specimens from 840 patients with endoscopically defined as barret esophagus were evaluated histopathologically. Results: Of 840 patients, 367 (%44) were female and 473 (%56) were male. The median age was 51 (17-91) in all patients. Short segment barret esophagus was detected in 818 patients and long segment barret esophagus was detected in 22 patients. The prevalence of barret esophagus was found to be higher in patients who had alcohol and had HH and esophagitis on endoscopy. Barret's esophagus; age, sex and duration of symptoms were found to be positively related. Histopathological barrets esophagus was detected in 414 (%50.6) of the patients with endoscopic short segment barrets esophagus. In 9 patients (%40.9) with long segment barrets, pathological barrets esophagus was detected. Conclusions: Barret's esophagus is observed more frequently in our country than it is thought. In order to increase the accuracy rate in diagnosis of barret esophagus; during the endoscopic evalution, biopsy taken from correct area and the biopsy specimen should be evaluated by the pathologists specialized in gastrointestinal tract. Key Words: Barret's Esophagus, Dyspepsia, Endoscopy, Gastroesophageal Reflux