Management of acute sloughing of the esophageal lining in patients with dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa-A series of six pediatric patients.

Background: Dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB) is a subtype of an inherited skin disorder characterized by skin and mucosal fragility due to collagen VII (COL7A1) gene mutations. Esophageal strictures leading to chronic dysphagia and acute episodes are well recognized complications within this subtype. Sloughing of esophageal mucosa and the treatment of this emergency have heretofore received limited attention in the EB literature.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the electronic medical records of the patients who had an acute episode of sloughing of the esophageal lining between 2008 and 2021 and extracted the information regarding their clinical presentation and management.

Results: Six patients out of 210 with recessive DEB severe (RDEB-S) (n = 4), RDEB intermediate (RDEB-I) (n = 1) and dominant DEB (DDEB) (n = 1) were identified. The mean age at the time of the episode was 2.7 years. All patients had early-onset severe gastroesophageal reflux. Clinically, they presented with a coughing episode (n = 6), hematemesis (n = 6), vomiting (n = 6), and choking (n = 3), followed by coughing up a string like tissue of variable length, part of the esophageal mucosal lining. Four patients recovered with medical management only, two patients required gastrostomy insertions for feeding due to severe persistent dysphagia and one also required a Nissen's fundoplication to manage severe reflux. One patient had aspiration pneumonia.

Conclusions: Sloughing of varying lengths of segments of the esophagus is an emergency. The lining coughed up needs to be cut at the mouth not pulled and the emergency services called immediately for urgent assessment and management. Expert multidisciplinary care is needed to manage this rare but serious condition.