Introduction:

Barrett's esophagus is an injury to the esophagus with high degenerative potential; histological confirmation of intestinal metaplasia in the esophagus is required for its diagnosis.

Objective:

To determine the frequency and epidemiological characteristics of patients with Barrett's esophagus.

Methods:

An observational and descriptive study was conducted between January 2018 and June 2019 in 14 patients with a histological diagnosis of Barrett's esophagus. The variables studied were: age, sex, skin color, epidemiological history, symptoms and signs, segment length according to the Sharma classification and presence of hiatal hernia, as well as the histological diagnosis according to the Vienna classification. The prevalence was determined with respect to the total number of upper gastrointestinal endoscopies performed in the period; descriptive statistical techniques were used.

Results:

A prevalence of 0,37 % was obtained. Males (78,6 %) and white skin color (71,4 %) predominated; the mean age was 51,64 years. Smoking was reported by 50 % of patients. Typical symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux, regurgitation (64,3 %) and heartburn (42,9 %) were the most frequent. The short segment variety was the most observed and hiatal hernia was found in 28,6 % of cases.

Conclusions:

The epidemiological characteristics of male patients, white skin color, between the 5th and 6th decades of life and typical symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease predominate.

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