O044 - EFFICACY OF A DAIRY FREE DIET (DFD) IN ADULT PATIENTS WITH EOSINOPHILIC ESOPHAGITIS: A REAL LIFE PROSPECTIVE MULTICENTER STUDY

O044

EFFICACY OF A DAIRY FREE DIET (DFD) IN ADULT PATIENTS WITH EOSINOPHILIC ESOPHAGITIS: A REAL LIFE PROSPECTIVE MULTICENTER STUDY

B. Marinoni¹, G. Aldinio², F. Mascaretti^1,*, E. Savarino³, P. Iovino⁴, M. L. Guarciariello⁴, D. Gargano⁵, R. Penagini¹, M. Coletta¹

¹Gastroenterology, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, ²Universita degli Studi di Milano, Milan, ³Universita degli Studi di Padova, Padua, ⁴Universita degli Studi di Salerno, salerno, ⁵Presidio Ospedaliero San Giuseppe Moscati, Avellino, Italy

Rationale: In eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) dietary therapy is an effective treatment for EoE patients of any age. However, data on the clinical effectiveness of dairy free diet (DFD) in adults remain limited. Our study aims to explore the clinical, endoscopic, and histological responses to a 12-week course of a dairy-free diet in adult patients diagnosed with EoE.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter study on adult patients with histologically active EoE. After nutritional counseling, DFD was prescribed to adult EoE patients. Clinical assessments and quality of life were evaluated using EEsAI, I-SEE, and the EOE-QOL-A scores at baseline and after 12 weeks of DFD. Clinical remission was defined as a reduction in the EEsAI score to less than 20 points. Adherence to DFD was assessed using VAS and an adherence score questionnaire. EGDS with biopsies was repeated after 12 weeks for endoscopic and histological assessments.

Results: 21 adult EoE patients undergoing DFD at 3 Italian Centers were enrolled from October 2022 to June 2024. After 12 weeks of DFD, 50% of patients were on clinical remission, 50% were on histological remission and 47% were on both clinical and histological remission. Patients with histological remission showed a significant reduction in both EEsAI and ISEE scores (p=0.01). This trend was confirmed also when patients on both clinical and histological remission were compared to the other patients (ISEE, p=0.05). Patients with clinical and histological response showed higher adherence score measured by VAS scale compared to the other patients (p=0.02). After 12 weeks of DFD, median EoE-QoL-A score improved by 6 points (interquartile range 1-23) overall.

Conclusion: DFD can be offered as an effective therapy for adult EoE patients and significantly improves quality of life.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared