Background: This study was done to ascertain the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori in patients with PHG and determine whether it contributed to the severity of the disease.
Material/methods: A total of thirty-seven consecutive patients who presented with portal hypertensive gastropathy were included in the study. H. pylori status was determined by urease test and histology. The presence of at least one positive test was considered as a positive H. pylori state. Correlation analyses of H. pylori status with age, gender, alcohol consumption, and the site and severity of lesion were done.
Results: Sixteen of the 37 patients were positive for H. pylori. A linear trend with age was seen in H. pylori - infected patients. H. pylori positivity was higher in the second and third decades of life, although this did not reach statistical significance. The linear trend with age was similar to that of the control group. There was no association between H. pylori status and alcohol intake or the site of lesion. Twenty-sevenlpatients had endoscopic evidence of mill PHG, 9 had moderate and 1 severe. The H. pylori status was 52%, 22%, and 0% in patients with mild, moderate, and severe gastropathy, respectively, indicating an inverse relatioinship of severity of PHG with H. pylori colonization.
Conclusions: Portal hypertensive gastropathy does not provide a favorable environment for the colonization of H. pylori. The decline in H. pylori positivity with the severity of PHG suggests that this bacterium is unlikely to contribute in the pathogenesis of congestive gastropathy and that hence there might be no need for its routine eradication in patients with PHG.