Changes in gastric acid secretion assayed by endoscopic gastrin test before and after Helicobacter pylori eradication

Background-It remains controversial whether or not Helicobacter pylori infe ction causes altered gastric acid secretion. A novel test for evaluating ga stric acid secretion (endoscopic gastrin test; EGT) has recently been devel oped. Aim-To investigate by EGT the effects of H pylori eradication on the state of gastric acid secretion in patients with peptic ulcer. Method-Twenty six patients with duodenal ulcer and 33 with gastric ulcer, f or all of whom H pylori infection had been documented, were studied by EGT, histological examination of gastric mucosa, and measurement of plasma gast rin levels before and one and seven months after H pylori eradication. Results-In patients with duodenal ulcer, the mean EGT value before H pylori eradication was higher than that in H pylori negative controls, but it had decreased significantly seven months after the treatment. In contrast, the mean EGT value of patients with gastric ulcer before H pylori eradication was lower than that in H pylori negative controls, but it had increased one month after the treatment; this was followed by a slight decrease at seven months. In both groups, mean EGT values seven months after the treatment w ere not significantly different from the mean control value. Conclusions-The reduced acid secretion in gastric ulcer patients and gastri c acid hypersecretion in duodenal ulcer patients were both normalised after the clearance of H pylori.