Budesonide Following Endoscopic Dilatation of Esophageal Strictures in Children.

Endoscopic balloon dilatation (EBD) is a common therapeutic procedure performed for esophageal strictures. While the etiologies of esophageal strictures are numerous - including congenital strictures, caustic injuries and eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) -anastomotic strictures following esophageal atresia and trachea-esophageal fistula repairs is reported as the most frequent cause in children.

Stricture dilatation is usually performed under direct endoscopic vision, with graduated balloon dilatation, utilizing increasing balloon diameters deployed until reaching a pre-determined, age-based, dilatation target. Balloon dilatation is repeated every 2-4 weeks until the target is reached. Success is defined as prolonged restoration of effective swallow with no dysphagia or dietary restrictions. Dilatation is repeated if clinical resolution is not obtained, or if symptoms return after initial resolution.

In children, a stricture is considered refractory when the age-appropriate esophageal lumen is not achieved with five dilatations within 5 months, or if despite ≥7 dilatations overall an age-appropriate esophageal lumen was not maintained.

Several interventions have been studied to improve the efficacy of balloon dilatation, including injecting corticosteroids at the dilatation site, topical Mitomycin C following dilatation, or pre-dilatation endoscopic incisions of the anastomotic scar tissue. All these interventions are performed endoscopically at the time of the dilatation, require advanced endoscopic skills and may potentially have associated additional risk.

In this study the investigators aim to test the efficacy and safety of topical budesonide gel following EBD for anastomotic esophageal strictures in a single-blinded, randomized controlled study of children.