PubMedDate not supplied
The aims of this study were to: a) evaluate the prevalence of Campylobacter pylori (CP) in patients referred to a gastroenterology unit for upper digestive tract endoscopy, b) compare the results of histologic (Warthin-Starry method) and bacteriologic (direct and culture) examinations, c) correlate the presence and abundance of CP with the "activity" of chronic gastritis as assessed by antral and fundic specimens, and d) report the preliminary results of an epidemiological survey in the area of Nantes, France. CP was observed in 30 of the 64 patients studied (46 p. 100 of cases), and was significantly associated with chronic gastritis of either the superficial or interstitial (87 vs. 12 p. 100 of patients positive and negative, respectively for CP studies, p less than 10(-9], and preatrophic and/or atrophic types (40 vs. 12 p. 100 of patients positive and negative, respectively, for CP studies, p less than 0.01). CP was also present in 7 of 10 patients with duodenal ulcers and in 4 to 6 with gastric ulcers. Histologic and bacteriologic studies gave concordant results in 94 p. 100 of cases, and had the same sensitivity for diagnosis. Patients positive for CP studies had a statistically significant increased incidence of epigastric burns, and, at endoscopic examination, their fundic area appeared congestive more frequently. CP were dictated in both the antrum and fundus, but lesions of chronic gastritis were more prominent in the former. There was a statistically significant correlation between the degree of inflammation observed in the lamina propria and the number of CP present in the same area (antrum and fundus).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)