Endoscopic findings of esophagogastric junction in children

<jats:p>Esophagogastric landmarks are recognizable in the same way both in children and in adults, and palisade‐shaped vessels can be observed at the distal position of esophageal mucosa, even in infants. Few studies have been done in respect to Barrett's esophagus (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">BE</jats:styled-content>) in children. Incidence of endoscopically suspected <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">BE</jats:styled-content> among all children undergoing esophagogastroduodenoscopy (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">EGD</jats:styled-content>) is approximately 0.25–1.4%, but can be up to 9.7% in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">GERD</jats:styled-content>). Some data suggest that <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">BE</jats:styled-content> is an acquired disorder and point to the possibility of a congenital component in combination with severe mucosal injury. Recent reports noted that multilayered epithelium (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">ME</jats:styled-content>), which shows morphological and immunocytochemical characteristics of both squamous and columnar epithelium, is associated with goblet cell metaplasia in adult patients with columnar‐lined esophagus. The role of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">ME</jats:styled-content> in the development of intestinal metaplasia in children is uncertain. Furthermore, detailed mechanisms about how short‐segment BE (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">SSBE</jats:styled-content>) changes to long‐segment <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">BE</jats:styled-content> (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">LSBE</jats:styled-content>) are not yet well understood. Further studies are required to understand the pathological esophagogastric junction (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">EGJ</jats:styled-content>) and <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">BE</jats:styled-content> in children based on reliable epidemiological data and analysis especially in children who have reflux symptoms. Better understanding of the pediatric <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">EGJ</jats:styled-content> and <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">BE</jats:styled-content> may allow improved diagnosis, monitoring, therapy and, therefore, prognosis of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">GERD</jats:styled-content>‐related disorders in adulthood.</jats:p>