Helicobacter pylori is the major etiologic agent of chronic active gastritis, and it may be isolated from the gastric mucosa in a high proportion of patients with duodenal ulcer.
Aim: To study, in duodenal ulcer patients, the histological changes associated with H. pylori infection in gastric antrum and body, and the improvement of such lesions after eradication, at an early stage and after 6 months.
Methods: 76 patients with duodenal ulcer disease were investigated prospectively. Biopsy specimens taken by endoscopy from the duodenal bulb, antrum, body and gastric fundus were analyzed by microbiological and histological methods. A patient was considered to be H. pylori-positive when microbiology or/and histology demonstrated colonization in any of the locations. An endoscopy with biopsy samples from the antrum and gastric body was performed 1 month after therapy and 4 months later. Different therapy regimens were used: amoxicillin/clavulanic plus omeprazole or ranitidine; triple therapy; and omeprazole or ranitidine alone.
Results: All patients were positive by microbiology. Eradication was reached as a whole in 47% (N = 36). In those patients, in gastric antrum, rates of chronic gastritis/chronic active gastritis previous to treatment and 2 and 6 months later were 100%/96%; 38%/23% and 16%/5.6% respectively. At gastric body they were: 54%/38%; 12%/12% and 12%/5.6% respectively. A favourable histologic evolution, globally and of the acute inflammatory component, was observed 1 month after therapy (p < 0.001). Six months later, there was further improvement which did not reach a statistically significant difference compared with the results obtained at the first month. No differences were observed when eradication failed.
Conclusion: An improvement of antral and gastric body gastritis is associated with H. pylori eradication in duodenal ulcer patients. This successful evolution is observed immediately after eradication, and it is confirmed six months after the diagnosis.