Helicobacter pylori infection and chronic gastritis; use of the Updated Sydney System in histopathological evaluation of gastritis

Abstract

Objective Helicobacter pylori is a major cause for chronic gastritis and further it is associated with development of peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer. Therefore, the objective of this study was to classify gastritis according to the updated Sydney system guidelines and find the association of H. pylori with each of graded variable. Number of 152 dyspeptic patients who underwent upper gastro-intestinal endoscopy at a Teaching Hospital were enrolled. Of the 2 biopsies collected one was used for PCR to detect H. pylori. The other biopsy was fixed in formalin followed by paraffin embedding and stained with H&E stain. Gastritis was classified microscopically according to the updated Sydney system. Results : Gastritis was reported over a wide age group ranging from 18-84 years with a mean age of 51 years. Based on histological findings, 12% of patients were diagnosed as H. pylori associated chronic active gastritis. There was no significant association between each graded variable and H. pylori positivity. Of the 152 dyspeptic patients 34 were positive by PCR for H. pylori infection. All the dyspeptic patients with H. pylori infection had chronic active gastritis, suggesting an etiologic role of the bacterium in the histologic lesion.