Helicobacter pylori infection and recurrent abdominal pain in Turkish children

Background. Helicobacter pylori infection is primarily acquired in childhoo d. However, the association between H. pylori infection and recurrent abdom inal pain (RAP) remains unclear. Materials and methods. One hundred and forty-one children with and 21 witho ut RAP underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. At least five antral gas tric biopsies were obtained from each patient and the presence of H. pylori infection was accepted when at least two out of four tests (histology, dir ect antral smear, culture, and rapid urease test) were positive. Patients w ith H. pylori infection underwent triple therapy with omeprazole, clarithro mycin, and metronidazole. Results. Eighty-five out of 141 (60.3%) patients with RAP were H. pylori po sitive whereas 5 out of 21 (20.8%) patients without RAP were (p = .0037). S ymptoms were disappeared in 87% of children whose H. pylori infection was e radicated compared with 41% of those in whom the infection was not eradicat ed (p = .0035). Conclusions. It was concluded that children with RAP and H. pylori infectio n appear to benefit from eradication therapy in Turkey.