The most common occurrence of this disease is caused by streptococci entering the area of the esophagus with foreign bodies. In other situations, with diffuse esophagitis, purulent inflammation spreads in the esophagus, which has passed from other organs. As a rule, this ailment is formed with the available pulmonary abscess, phlegmon of the oral cavity, esophageal cancer and chemical burn. Purulent imbibition of the esophageal wall and melting of the submucous base are morphological signs of the disease. In this case, the exfoliated mucous membrane dies and appears. Specialists note that with diffuse esophagitis, this process takes place in the submucosal layer, but is able to penetrate and deeper.
This disease develops quite rapidly and sharply and is characterized by the appearance of salivation, persistent retrosternal pain, dysphagia and severe painful sensations when coughing and swallowing. The associated vomiting leads to the isolation of the rejected tissue of the mucous membrane.
Diagnosis of diffuse esophagitis
Due to the fact that there is a threat of esophageal rupture in the acute phase of phlegmonous esophagitis, doctors do not perform X-ray examination. After the symptoms subsided, the X-ray semiotics is characterized by the eroded contours of the organ and the absence of folds on the mucosa, which is covered with ulcers of various sizes. The width of the lumen of the esophagus is not uniform and is filled with mucus and pus.
Clinical manifestations of diffuse esophagitis
The prognosis of the disease is serious enough, therefore, even therapy that is started in a timely manner is not always able to give the desired result. The phlegmonous form of the disease is characterized by a high percentage of complications in the form of mediastinal abscess, pneumothorax, and pereezophagitis.
Clinical manifestations of diffuse esophagitis resemble acute sepsis. At the same time there is a sharp deterioration in the general condition of the patient with increasing dysphagia. Formation of subcutaneous emphysema promotes gas formation after the multiplication of infection. Also, this process causes a complex defeat of nearby organs.
In the case of the formation of mediastinitis, the patient's condition is fatal. When encapsulating an abscess in the mediastinum, severe consequences for the patient arise.