Role of Helicobacter pylori in cirrhotic patients with dyspepsia: A C-13-urea breath test study

The role of Helicobacter pylori in dyspeptic, cirrhotic patients remains un clear. This prospective outpatient study, conducted to assess the relations hip of gastroduodenal disease and H. pylori as determined by the (C-13) ure a breath test, enrolled 109 consecutive cirrhotic patients with dyspepsia. All patients underwent upper-gastrointestinal endoscopy, which revealed res pective prevalences of peptic ulcer, gastric ulcer, and duodenal ulcer of 4 1.3%, 23.9%, and 22.9%; H. pylori infection was found in 52.3%. The rate of peptic ulcer disease in the H. pylori-positive (45.6%) and -negative (36.5 %) groups was not significantly different; neither was the prevalence of H. pylori in patients with or without portal hypertensive gastropathy and wit h or without esophageal varices. The relationship between peptic ulcer dise ase and H. pylori in dyspeptic patients with cirrhosis appears to be weak. Likewise, no significant relationship was evident between H. pylori and por tal hypertensive gastropathy or esophageal varices. This organism may not b e a major pathogenetic factor in gastroduodenal diseases in dyspeptic patie nts with cirrhosis.