Gereon Börsch

Curing Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with duodenal ulcer may provoke reflux esophagitis

BACKGROUND & AIMS We have shown previously that cure of Helicobacter pylori infection leads to the disappearance of acid-neutralizing substances. Also, patients with ulcer after cure may gain weight. The aim of this study was to investigate whether cure of the infection increases the risk of reflux esophagitis. METHODS Patients with duodenal ulcer without reflux esophagitis at the time of Helicobacter treatment were followed up prospectively after cure of the infection (n = 244) or after diagnosis of persisting infection (n = 216). All patients underwent endoscopy at 1-year intervals or when upper gastrointestinal symptoms recurred. H. pylori infection was assessed by rapid urease test and histology. RESULTS The estimated incidence of reflux esophagitis within 3 years was 25.8% after cure of the infection and 12.9% when the infection was ongoing (P < 0.001). Patients who developed reflux esophagitis after the cure had a more severe body gastritis before cure (odds ratio, 5.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.8-13.6), gained weight more frequently after cure (odds ratio, 3.2; 95% CI, 1.2-9.4), and were predominantly men (odds ratio, 3.6; 95% CI, 1.1-10.6). CONCLUSIONS A considerable proportion of patients with duodenal ulcer treated for H. pylori will develop reflux esophagitis; risk factors are male sex, severity of corpus gastritis, and weight gain.

Role of Helicobacter pylori Eradication in the Prevention of Peptic Ulcer Bleeding Relapse

The objective of the present work was to determine the effect of treating Helicobacter pylori infection on the recurrence of peptic ulcer bleeding. We prospectively followed 66 out of 70 consecutive H. pylori-positive (histology and/or culture) patients with conservatively and endoscopically managed peptic ulcer bleeding (duodenal ulcer; n = 39, gastric ulcer: n = 25, gastroduodenal double ulcer: n = 2) for a median period of 17 months (range 6-33 months). Patients were treated in seven different clinical protocols, each of which included the attempt to eradicate H. pylori infection. Patients with (n = 42) and without (n = 24) bacterial eradication had similar demographic and clinical characteristics. Eradication of H. pylori was associated with a statistically significant reduction of ulcer recurrences (2.4 vs. 62.5%; p < 0.001) and bleeding relapses (0 vs. 37.5%; p = 0.01). We conclude that H. pylori eradication markedly changes the natural history in patients with complicated duodenal and gastric ulcer disease. Thus, treatment aimed at bacterial eradication should be considered in all patients with conservatively managed bleeding from H. pylori-positive ulcers.

Frequency of idiopathic gastric stasis and intestinal transit disorders in essential dyspepsia.

Gastric emptying, mouth-to-cecum transit (MCT), and whole-gut transit of a solid-liquid meal was measured in 30 control subjects and in 43 patients with essential dyspepsia, in whom organic digestive diseases and secondary disorders of gastric emptying had been excluded. The rate of gastric emptying was determined by an anterior gamma camera technique, MCT by the hydrogen breath test, and whole-gut transit by the first appearance of stool markers. Approximately 30% of patients with essential dyspepsia, predominantly women, in whom statistical analysis failed to reveal any specific pattern of symptoms, had significantly delayed gastric emptying suggesting idiopathic gastric stasis. Concerning MCT and whole-gut transit, significant differences between the control and study group could not be detected.

Effect of ageing on the gastro-intestinal transit of a lactulose-supplemented mixed solid-liquid meal in humans.

Gastro-intestinal transit of a mixed solid-liquid meal containing wheat bread, scrambled eggs, coffee labelled with 99mTc, orange juice with lactulose and indigocarmine was evaluated in 21 young control (mean age 33.5 years) and 25 elderly subjects (mean age 81.7 years) without gastrointestinal complaints or severe medical illness. The rate of gastric emptying was determined by an anterior gamma camera technique, mouth-to-caecum transit by the hydrogen breath test and whole-gut transit by the first stool passage of indigocarmine. Gastric emptying was significantly prolonged in older subjects: t1/2 = 136 +/- (SEM) 13 versus 81 +/- 4 min; p less than 0.001. Concerning mouth-to-caecum or whole-gut transit time, significant differences between the two study groups were not detected.

Distribution, incidence of malignant transformation, and rate of recurrence

In 282 patients, 731 colon polyps (643 adenomas and 88 hyperplastic polyps) were extirpated endoscopically or biopsied and investigated histologically. Localization of the adenomas with various degrees of atypia and the hyperplastic polyps, as well as their size distribution, were determined. In 66 patients with adenoma polypectomy on the first examination, one or more control colonoscopies were carried out (in all, 107). The median period of follow-up observation was 31 months. Thirty percent of the one-year control colonoscopies after polypectomy revealed new adenomas. The statistical analyses showed that patients with singular adenomas, on initial investigation, develop significantly fewer adenomas in the further course than patients with multiple initial findings, especially in negative results in the one-year control. The size of new adenomas found during the first 24 months after polypectomy does not exceed 10 mm. On the basis of these results and the literature data available so far, a follow-up program is presented for discussion.

Validity of a Novel Biopsy Urease Test (HUT) and a Simplified 13C-Urea Breath Test for Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori Infection and Estimation of the Severity of Gastritis

This prospective study was designed to validate a novel biopsy urease test as well as a simplified 13C-urea breath test for the detection of Helicobacter pylori. In addition, the hypothesis was tested that both the reaction velocity of the urease test and the 13CO2 excess of the urea breath test may allow a prediction of the severity of gastritis. Seventy dyspeptic patients with unknown H. pylori status were included. The H. pylori status was assessed by means of culture and histology after Warthin and Starry stain. One antral and one body biopsy specimen were separately analyzed by the novel biopsy urease test (HUT). Also, a 13C-urea breath test using 75 mg 13C-labelled urea and orange juice as test meal was performed in all patients. Forty-seven patients (67%) were H. pylori positive as judged from histology and culture. In 46 patients, H. pylori infection was also detected by the novel biopsy urease test and by the urea breath test as well (sensitivity 97.9%). False-positive results were not observed by either method (specificity 100%). Both the reaction velocity of the urease test and the 13CO2 excess of the breath test significantly correlated with H. pylori density and grade and activity of gastritis. The determination coefficients, however, indicated that both methods allow a reliable prediction of the severity of gastritis only in about 40-50% of the patients. In conclusion, the novel biopsy urease test and the simplified 13C-urea breath test proved to be highly accurate in diagnosing H. pylori infection. Despite a significant correlation, neither the reaction velocity of the urease test nor the 13CO2 excess of the breath test are clinically useful for the prediction of the severity of gastritis.

Endoscopy of the terminal ileum. Diagnostic yield in 400 consecutive examinations.

A prospective study was undertaken to investigate the feasibility and diagnostic yield of ileoscopy as an extension of total colonoscopy. The distal 15 to 40 cm of the terminal ileum were visualized in 400 of 555 consecutive patients submitted to total colonoscopy (72 percent). Intubation of the terminal ileum was not successful in 42 patients (8 percent), not tried in 63 (11 percent), and hampered by inadequate colonic cleansing in 50 (9 percent). We observed 13 patients with terminal ileitis and seven rare findings such as nonspecific ileal ulcer or non-Meckelian diverticulum, etc., adding to a total of 20 pathologic findings in 400 examination (5 percent). In a further group of 98 patients, useful diagnostic information was gained by the demonstration of normal ileal findings, making ileoscopy clinically valuable in 118 of 400 examinations (29.5 percent) in this series. We suggest routine endoscopy of the terminal ileum in all patients with suspected or established inflammatory bowel disease and/or persistent diarrhea, lower gastrointestinal tract bleeding, or irritable bowel syndrome, in whom the diagnostic procedure includes colonoscopy. In patients with colorectal tumors or polyps, the diagnostic yield will be unrewarding.

Campylobacter pylori: prospective analysis of clinical and histological factors associated with colonization of the upper gastrointestinal tract

Abstract. The association of Campylobacter pylori (C.p.) colonization of the upper gastrointestinal tract with five predefined anamnestic variables, seven symptoms of dyspepsia, and various blindly evaluated histological criteria, was prospectively investigated in a consecutive series of 149 patients submitted to upper gastrointestinal tract endoscopy. Colonization was determined by biopsy urease tests and histological searches. Significant differences (P < 005) between C.p.‐positive and C.p.‐negative patients were found for smoker status and the frequency of therapy with ulcer‐healing drugs (positive association with C.p.) and antibiotics (negative association), but not for any other of the anamnestic data or symptoms. These data were further submitted to stepwise multiple logistic regression analyses. Concerning histological findings, C.p. colonization was significantly associated with the degree of antrum and body gastritis (P < 0·01), and also with lymphocellular infiltration in antrum and body biopsies and neutrophil cellular grading in gastric antra. We conclude that C.p. colonization of the upper gastrointestinal tract is associated with gastritic change of the antrum and, albeit to a lesser extent, of the body mucosa. However, a specific pattern of symptoms to predict C.p. colonization could not be established.

Medium- and High-Dose Omeprazole Plus Amoxicillin for Eradication of Helicobacter pylori in Duodenal Ulcer Disease

The purpose of the present study was to investigate theHelicobacter pylori eradication potency of combined amoxicillin-omeprazole treatment in patients with duodenal ulcer disease and to compare the efficacy of two omeprazole and amoxicillin doses concerningH. pylori eradication, ulcer healing, pain relief, and safety. Ninety patients with activeH. pylori-positive (culture and/or histology) duodenal ulcer disease were randomly treated with either omeprazole 20 mg twice a day plus amoxicillin 1 g twice a day (group I,N=30), omeprazole 40 mg twice a day plus amoxicillin 1 g twice a day (group II,N=30), or omeprazole 40 mg twice a day plus amoxicillin 1 g three times a day (group III,N=30) over two weeks, followed by ranitidine at bedtime for another four weeks. The overall proportion ofH. pylori eradication was 83% and of ulcer healing 92% without statistically significant differences between the study groups. Complete pain relief occurred after a median of one day in all groups. Six patients complained of side effects during the therapy phase, which led to therapy discontinuation in one female patient. In conclusion, omeprazole plus amoxicillin is a highly effective and well-tolerated therapy regimen to eradicateH. pylori in duodenal ulcer disease. In addition, the results suggest that there is no clear dose-response relation between the dosages of omeprazole and amoxicillin used in this study on the one hand and theH. pylori eradication rates on the other.

Subcutaneous emphysema and pneumothorax complicating diagnostic colonoscopy

A case of subcutaneous emphysema and pneumothorax secondary to a diagnostic colonoscopy is presented. While 11 cases of retroperitoneal emphysema due to colonoscopy were identified in the literature, there are only two further reports of pneumothorax. Possible etiologic and therapeutic aspects are discussed.