Helicobacter pylori infection in Saudi children; clinical, endoscopic and pathological findings

Abstract

Background and study aims Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori) infection is common in the Saudi paediatric population. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical presentation, endoscopic abnormalities and associated histopathological changes in a group of Saudi children with H. pylori infection. Patients and methods This is a chart review of all Saudi children diagnosed at King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, between September 2001 and July 2005 with H. pylori infection. Results A total of 230 children were identified. One hundred and thiry six (55%) were females. The mean age was 11 ± 3.9 years (range, 2–17). Thirty-two (14%) were underweight and 12 (5%) were stunted. The main symptom was epigastric pain in 128 (56%). Nodular gastritis was the most frequent endoscopic finding in 94 patients (40%). The histopathological findings in the antrum showed moderate chronic inflammatory activity in 65%, mild glandular atrophy in 14% and intestinal metaplasia in 2%. In the corpus, moderate chronic inflammatory activity was found in more than 50%, glandular atrophy in 7%, and no cases with intestinal metaplasia. The density of H. pylori in the antrum was mild in 67% and moderate in 26% of cases. In the corpus, it was mild in 49% and moderate in 21% of patients.The mean gastritis score was 4.2 ± 1.3 in the antrum and 3.4 ± 1.3 in the corpus. Nodular gastritis was associated with the highest mean gastritis score of 4.9 ± 1.2 in the antrum (ANOVA < 0.001). The severity of gastritis in the antrum and the corpus was associated with higher density of H. pylori (ANOVA < 0.001). Conclusion Saudi children with H. pylori infection were commonly found to have abnormal endoscopic findings which were associated with significant gastric mucosal inflammation.