French Society of Digestive Endoscopy SFED guideline: monitoring of patients with Barrett’s esophagus

Definitions

Diagnosis of Barrett’s esophagus, also known as Barrett’s mucosa, is by two means, endoscopic and histologic. Endoscopically, the condition is defined as a columnar epithelium that extends above the gastroesophageal junction (GEJ); histologically, it is defined by the presence of a specialized intestinal metaplasia.

Barrett’s esophagus is classified into three types according to its length:

Long-segment Barrett’s esophagus: when the distance between the GEJ and the squamocolumnar epithelial line (Z-line) is more than 3 cm long. Short-segment Barrett’s esophagus: when the distance between the GEJ and the Z-line is from 5 mm to 3 cm long. It may be circular like a sleeve or segmented into tongue(s). Ultra-short-segment Barrett’s esophagus: when the distance between the GEJ and the Z-line is less than 5 mm long. This entity cannot be diagnosed endoscopically since it cannot be distinguished from the cardial intestinal metaplasia.

References

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