Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori Infection in Peptic Ulcer Patients of Highly Endemic Kashmir Valley

Objective This study aimed to find out prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in peptic ulcer disease (PUD) which is highly endemic disease in Kashmir. Method This study consisted of 50 PUD patients and 30 asymptomatic volunteers. Peptic ulcer was diagnosed by endoscopic examination and H. pylori was detected by histology (using Giemsa stain), one minute endoscopy room test (OMERT) and modified Gram's staining. Positive results from OMERT plus histology were considered as the “gold standard” for the presence of H. pylori. Results Out of 50 patients, 46 had duodenal ulcer (DU), 2 had benign gastric ulcer (GU) and 2 had both DU and GU. The sensitivity and specificity of OMERT were 94% and 96.70%, histology 97.90% and 96.90% and Gram's staining 91.30% and 85.30%, respectively, as compared to our gold standards. H. pylori was present in 76.09% of DU, 50% of GU, whereas patients with duodenitis, channel ulcers, chronic active DU and those with multiple ulcers were 100% H. pylori positive. H. pylori was present in 10 (33.33%) of healthy volunteers. Conclusion A significant association between H. pylori infection and PUD was found in this study. However, there seem to be other causative factors as well which contribute for this highly endemic disease.