Sonia Shahid
Karachi Medical and Dental College, Pakistan
Title: Frequency of H. Pylori causing gastritis and peptic ulcer disease in pediatric population
Biography
Biography: Sonia Shahid
Abstract
Objective: To determine the frequency of H.pylori infection causing gastritis and peptic ulcers in children and complications
related to it.
Introduction: Helicobacter pylori is a gramnegative, spiral organism that colonizes the gastric mucosa and causes primary antral gastritis and peptic ulcer disease. Helicobacter pylori infection is a common problem in pediatric practice, and its acquisition is related with poor socioeconomic conditions. The possible routes of transmission are feco–oral, oral–oral and gastro–oral. H. pylori causes chronic inflammation ( gastritis) by invading the lining of the stomach and thus can lead to ulcer formation. When the infection leads to an ulcer, symptoms may include abdominal pain, excessive burping, feeling bloated, nausea or vomiting, lack of appetite and unexplained weight loss. H. pylori infections can lead to peptic ulcers, but the infection or the ulcer itself can lead to more serious complications these include; interna bleeding, which can happen when a
peptic ulcer breaks through your blood vessel; obstruction, which can happen when an ulcer blocks the food from leaving your stomach;perforation, which can happen when an ulcer breaks through your stomach wall and peritonitis, which is an infection of the peritoneum, or the lining of the abdominal cavity
Methodology: This crossâ€sectional study was conducted from July 2014 †July 2016. Pediatric patients under 12 years of age were recruited in this study. A history and examination form designed from an application “Forms”,particularly for the study. Children were examined and endoscopic biopsy was done to find out the extent of infection. For data analysis SPSS 16.0
software was used.
Results: Out of 489 subjects, mainly mucosal erosions were revealed at endoscopy in 361 subjects (73.82%). Gastritis was found
in 272 subjects (75.3%), of whom 266 (54.4% of the total) were found to be infected with H. pylori. Gastritis and H. pylori
were noted in both the antrum and corpus in 75% of those infected children. In complications, internal bleeding was found in
35.67% children, obstruction in 21.45%, perforation in 19.7% and peritonitis in 23.18% Stepwise logistic regression analysis
revealed that the relative risk for H. pylori infection associated with gastritis was 5.8 (95% confidence interval), whereas the
relative risk for peptic ulcer was 6.5 (95% confidence interval).
Conclusion: The main predisposing factors identified in these studies were low socioeconomic status and poor hygiene. The
results may explain why the rate of infection is so high in poorer countries and in socioeconomic
groups characterized by
crowded living conditions, poor sanitary conditions, and lack of clean water.Endoscopy also allows determination of the
severity of gastritis with biopsies as well as the presence of ulcers.