HELICOBACTER-PYLORI PREVALENCE IN A ROUTINE UPPER GASTROINTESTINAL ENDOSCOPY POPULATION

The presence of Helicobacter pylori (HP) in gastric biopsy specimens o f 500 patients referred for routine upper gastrointestinal endoscopy f or various abdominal complaints was investigated histologically and mi crobiologically. HP was detected in 429 of the 500 patients (86%). Ant ral biopsy specimens revealed gastritis in 457 out of 500 cases (91.4% ). In the 43 patients who had normal histological findings, only 3 had HP infection (7%). The prevalence of HP in the patients with gastric and duodenal ulcers was 91%. In 95.6% of the ulcer patients, biopsy sp ecimens showed gastritis. There was a statistically significant rise i n the prevalence of HP with age. The correlation between histologic an d microbiologic diagnostic methods was good. This study shows that HP positivity and gastritis are common in a routine endoscopy population and that there is a strong association between H. pylori, gastritis an d peptic ulcer disease.