Prevalence ofHelicobacter pylori in specific forms of gastritis

Helicobacter pylori colonization of the gastric mucosa is strongly associated with chronic nonspecific gastritis; moreover, there is evidence to suggest thatH. pylori may cause this form of gastritis. However, there is little or no information on the prevalence ofH. pylori in specific forms of gastritis. Our hypothesis was that ifH. pylori was pathogenic in chronic nonspecific gastritis, organisms would be found frequently in this type of gastritis but infrequently in specific forms of gastritis. Prevalence rates ofH. pylori were determined independently in patients with eosinophilic and Crohn's gastritis, Menetrier's disease, and chronic nonspecific gastritis. The prevalence ofH. pylori in patients with chronic nonspecific gastritis was 71%, whereas the organism was not identified in patients with any form of specific gastritis. This finding further supports the accumulating evidence thatH. pylori is a primary pathogenic factor in chronic nonspecific gastritis.This work was supported in part by the Mayo Digestive Diseases Center Grant (DK34988) from the National Institutes of Health, United States Public Health Service.This work was presented in part at the American College of Gastroenterology Annual Meeting, New Orleans, October 1989, and published as an abstract in theAmerican Journal of Gastroenterology (84:1166, 1989).