Helicobacter pylori in gastric corpus of patients 20 years after partial gastric resection

AIM: To determine the long-term prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) gastritis in patients after partial gastric resection due to peptic ulcer, and to compare the severity of H pylori-positive gastritis in the corpus mucosa between partial gastrectomy patients and matched controls. METHODS: Endoscopic biopsies were obtained from 57 patients after partial gastric resection for histological examination using hematoxylin/eosin and Warthin-Starry staining. Gastritis was graded according to the updated Sydney system. Severity of corpus gastritis was compared between H pylori-positive partial gastrectomy patients and H pylori-positive duodenal ulcer patients matched for age and gender. RESULTS: In partial gastrectomy patients, surgery was performed 20 years (median) prior to evaluation. In 25 patients (43.8%) H pylori was detected histologically in the gastric remnant. Gastric atrophy was more common in H pylori-positive compared to H pylori-negative partial gastrectomy patients (P<0.05). The severity of corpus gastritis was significantly lower in H pylori-positive partial gastrectomy patients compared to duodenal ulcer patients (P<0.01). There were no significant differences in the activity of gastritis, atrophy and intestinal metaplasia between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The long-term prevalence of H pylori gastritis in the gastric corpus of patients who underwent partial gastric resection due to peptic ulcer disease is comparable to the general population. The expression of H pylori gastritis in the gastric remnant does not resemble the gastric cancer phenotype.