[Lymphocytic esophagitis: an entity to be excluded in chronic inflammatory diseases of the esophagus].

Lymphocytic esophagitis is a rare, ill-defined inflammatory disease of the esophagus and is characterized by an increased number of intraepithelial lymphocytes. Up to now no distinct clinical symptom or endoscopic finding could be linked to histopathological changes. Hence lymphocytic esophagitis remains a diagnosis by exclusion after ruling out other possible causes of esophageal intraepithelial lymphocytosis.