Dietary therapy a useful treatment option in eosinophilic esophagitis

Diet modification appears to be effective for treating eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), with an overall histological remission rate of 53.8 percent, according to the results of a meta-analysis.

Researchers searched multiple online databases for studies on dietary treatment of EoE and identified 34 studies for inclusion in the meta-analysis. These studies were conducted in an observational retrospective, quasi-experimental prospective, and randomized controlled trial setting.

The efficacy of dietary therapy was evaluated based on histological remission criteria. The types of dietary regimen were six-food elimination diet (SFED), four-food elimination diet (FFED), one-food elimination diet (OFED), and targeted elimination diet (TED). Clinical response rates, food sensitization, and efficacies for a paediatric subpopulation were also assessed.

The studies included a total of 1,762 patients, of which 701 (39.8 percent) were treated with SFED, 302 (17.1 percent) with FFED, 306 (17.4 percent) with OFED, and 453 (25.7 percent) with TED. The median duration of treatment was 6 weeks.

Pooled data showed that the overall rate of histological remission was 53.8 percent. In the individual dietary groups, the rates were 61.3 percent for SFED, 49.4 percent for FFED, 51.4 percent for OFED, and 45.7 percent for TED. Histological remission did not differ by dietary regimen and patients’ age.

The rate of clinical response was 80.8 percent overall, 92.8 percent for SFED, 74.1 percent for FFED, 87.1 percent for OFED, and 69.0 percent for TED.