Connecting the Eosinophilic Community
American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders is a non-profit organization dedicated to patients and their
families coping with eosinophilic disorders. Our mission is education, awareness, support, and research.
Definition and Description of EGIDs
Eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders, or EGIDs, “are characterized by having above normal
amounts of eosinophils, a type of white blood cell, in one or more specific places anywhere in the
digestive system. EGID is further subdivided into organ-specific diagnosis . . . [as follows:]
“Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE): high numbers of eosinophils occurring in the esophagus.
Eosinophilic Gastritis (EG): high numbers of eosinophils in the stomach.
Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis (EGE): affects the stomach and small intestine.
Eosinophilic Colitis (EC): describes the occurrence of high numbers of eosinophils in the large
intestine.”1
The common symptoms of EGIDs are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, failure to thrive, abdominal
or chest pain, reflux, difficulty swallowing, malnutrition, and gastroparesis. EGIDs are often very
debilitating with patients suffering from chronic pain, nausea and vomiting. EoE, the most common
EGID, “represents a chronic, immune/antigen-mediated esophageal disease characterized clinically
by symptoms related to esophageal dysfunction and histologically by eosinophil-predominant
inflammation.”2
EGIDs are considered “orphan” diseases by the FDA:
•
An ‘orphan disease’ is the rarest of the rare diseases.
•
To be classified an orphan disease, the disease generally impacts less than 200,000
people.3
•
There is no FDA approved medication to treat any of the EGIDs.
The only way to monitor EGIDs is for the patient to undergo repeated endoscopies with biopsies
under general anesthesia as often as every three months.
1American
Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (2014). Retrieved at http://apfed.org/drupal/drupal/what_are_egids
2Eosinophilic
esophagitis: Updated consensus recommendations for children and adults, The Journal of Allergy and
Clinical Immunology. Retrieved from http://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(11)00373-3/fulltext#sec9
3National
Institute of Health Office of Rare Disease Research. (2014). Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved from
http://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/about-ordr/pages/31/frequently-asked-questions
©2015, The American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders
Address: P.O. Box 29545, Atlanta, GA 30359 • Phone: 713.493.7749 • Email: mail@apfed.org • Website: www.apfed.org