HELICOBACTER PYLORI INFECTION IN EGYPTIAN PATIENTS WITH DYSPEPSIA: DIAGNOSTIC, DEMOGRAPHIC, ENDOSCOPIC AND CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS.

Background and Study Aims: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is considered as a public health problem, especially in developing countries. Understanding the epidemiological aspects of H. pylori infection is important and helpful in clarifying the consequences and complications of infection. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of H. pylori infection in dyspeptic patients and to study the demographic, endoscopic and clinical characteristics of H. pylori infected patients. Patients and Methods: A total of 113 adult patients with dyspepsia were enrolled in this study. They underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy for obtaining four antral biopsies, patients were considered to be infected with H. pylori when they had positive results of rapid urease and/or H.pylori stool antigen tests and confirmed by detection of H. pylori 16S rRNA gene in the extracted DNA from gastric biopsy specimens by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assay. Results: Sixty (53.1%) dyspeptic patients (17-76 years old) were confirmed to be infected with H. pylori. Age, sex, smoking history and taking spicy food had no significant correlation to the acquisition of H. pylori infection. Considering the PCR assay on gastric biopsy specimens as the gold standard, excellent agreement was found with both rapid urease and H. pylori stool antigen tests. Rapid urease test (91.7%) was more sensitive than H. pylori stool antigen test (83.3%), while both tests have specificity of 100%. Upon endoscopy; gastritis was revealed in 27(45%) and 10 (16.7%) had peptic ulcer disease (PUD). Conclusions: H. pylori infection rate in Egyptian patients with dyspepsia was high and gastritis was the most revealed finding upon endoscopy. No risk factors were associated with H. pylori infection among the studied adult patients. Combined rapid urease and stool antigen tests can be relied upon for detecting H. pylori infection