Demographic, Endoscopic and Histopathologic Features Among Stool H. pylori Positive and Stool H. pylori Negative Patients With Dyspepsia

BACKGROUND: Dyspepsia is a common presentation for many patients in gastroenterology clinics. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is endemic in many countries around the world and its relation to dyspepsia has long been questioned. This study aimed at comparing demographic, endoscopic and histologic features among dyspeptic patients with and without stool H. pylori antigen positivity. METHODS: One hundred and fifty-one consecutive patients with dyspepsia were divided into group I (n = 80) and group II (n = 71) according to positive or negative H. pylori stool antigen testing, respectively. All patients were subjected to history taking, clinical examination, laboratory investigations, abdominal ultrasonography, H. pylori stool antigen detection, and upper gastrointestinal tract endoscopy with four gastric mucosal biopsies for histopathologic examination. RESULTS: Stool H. pylori antigen negative group included more smokers and consumed much more fast and spicy food than the positive group. The most common endoscopic findings of both groups were gastritis, reflux esophagitis, gastric erosions, peptic ulcer, mucosal nodularity and hiatus hernia and were encountered in 100%, 74.2%, 23.2%, 15.2%, 13.9%, and 13.2% respectively with non-significant difference between both groups except for gastric erosions that were significantly higher in stool H. pylori negative group (P < 0.001). Histologic evidence of gastritis was reported in 100% and 92.9% of patients in group I and group II, respectively. Chronic active gastritis with neutrophil infiltration was significantly higher in group I (P < 0.001). H. pylori bacilli were histologically detected in 83.7% and 47.9% of patients in group I and group II, respectively (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: All patients with dyspepsia in this study had endoscopic evidence of gastritis. Most of these patients had histologic evidence of gastric mucosal inflammation. Consequently, it may be advisable to perform endoscopy on these patients and obtain gastric mucosal biopsies.