The Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disease (EGID) Clinic at Phoenix Children’s provides specialized, multidisciplinary care for children with this complex, lifelong condition. Phoenix Children’s is the only hospital in Arizona offering this high level of care for children with EGID. Our care teams are trained and experienced in treating children with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and other chronic eosinophilic disorders.
Eosinophils are disease-fighting cells that are a normal part of the immune system. In a person with EGID, eosinophils and other immune allergic cells invade tissues outside the normal barrier of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. These immune cells cause the intestinal tract to become inflamed, which causes stomach pain, vomiting, swallowing difficulties and other problems.
Living with these symptoms isn’t easy, but we’re here to help. The caring and compassionate pediatric gastroenterology experts in our EGID Clinic have the compassion and experience needed to improve your child’s quality of life.
Quality Care that Puts Families First
As a parent or caregiver, you’re a key member of the care team, making shared decisions to help successfully manage your child’s condition. EGID is a complex disease often associated with other allergic health conditions, such as eczema, allergies, malnutrition and feeding issues.
Our children’s clinic uses an approach that includes specialized care from a range of experts. At every visit, your child will see these specialists:
- Pediatric gastroenterologist
- Pediatric allergist/immunology physician
- Registered dietitian
Our state-of-the-art technology and advanced testing methods ensure your child has an accurate diagnosis and a treatment plan that considers their unique mix of conditions and symptoms. We offer education and an array of support services to families.
What to Expect at the EGID Clinic
Appointments in the EGID Clinic are very thorough, and your first visit will last about an hour. During each visit, you’ll meet with our caring team of providers at the same time.
We’ll develop a well-coordinated, unified treatment plan for your child. In addition, our nursing team will provide extensive education to help you understand EGID and how to best manage it.
As needs arise, our experienced team can refer you to other providers, such as a psychologist or feeding specialist. It’s all part of our commitment to making sure your child receives the best possible care. Our program coordinator will guide your family throughout your time with us. They will schedule appointments and ensure you understand the next steps in the care plan.
Your child’s treatment plan may include oral medications, such as proton pump inhibitors, swallowed topical steroids, dietary changes and biologic treatments. These treatments help the symptoms of EGID but do not provide a cure.
Advanced Research on EGID
Our physicians are actively involved in EGID research to advance understanding of this chronic disease. Through this innovative work, our team is at the forefront of research into the best ways to treat patients and manage the disease. In addition, as a leading EGID center, we are involved in large industry clinical trials, including studies using esophageal string samples and tissue biobank collection, in addition to several multicenter studies using transnasal endoscopy qualitative research.
As a result, your child may be able to join a clinical research study. It could provide access to an emerging treatment before that therapy is available elsewhere.
