Journal of Gastrointestinal & Digestive System
Open Access

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of H.pylori infection causing gastritis and peptic ulcers in children and complications related to it. Introduction: Helicobacter pylori is a gramnegative, spiral organism that colonizes the gastric mucosa and causes primary antral gastritis and peptic ulcer disease. Helicobacter pylori infection is a common problem in pediatric practice, and its acquisition is related with poor socioeconomic conditions. The possible routes of transmission are fecoâ�?�?oral, oralâ�?�?oral and gastroâ�?�?oral. H. pylori causes chronic inflammation ( gastritis) by invading the lining of the stomach and thus can lead to ulcer formation. When the infection leads to an ulcer, symptoms may include abdominal pain, excessive burping, feeling bloated, nausea or vomiting, lack of appetite and unexplained weight loss. H. pylori infections can lead to peptic ulcers, but the infection or the ulcer itself can lead to more serious complications these include; interna bleeding, which can happen when a peptic ulcer breaks through your blood vessel; obstruction, which can happen when an ulcer blocks the food from leaving your stomach;perforation, which can happen when an ulcer breaks through your stomach wall and peritonitis, which is an infection of the peritoneum, or the lining of the abdominal cavity Methodology: This crossâ�?sectional study was conducted from July 2014 â�? July 2016. Pediatric patients under 12 years of age were recruited in this study. A history and examination form designed from an application â�?�?Formsâ�?,particularly for the study. Children were examined and endoscopic biopsy was done to find out the extent of infection. For data analysis SPSS 16.0 software was used. Results: Out of 489 subjects, mainly mucosal erosions were revealed at endoscopy in 361 subjects (73.82%). Gastritis was found in 272 subjects (75.3%), of whom 266 (54.4% of the total) were found to be infected with H. pylori. Gastritis and H. pylori were noted in both the antrum and corpus in 75% of those infected children. In complications, internal bleeding was found in 35.67% children, obstruction in 21.45%, perforation in 19.7% and peritonitis in 23.18% Stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed that the relative risk for H. pylori infection associated with gastritis was 5.8 (95% confidence interval), whereas the relative risk for peptic ulcer was 6.5 (95% confidence interval). Conclusion: The main predisposing factors identified in these studies were low socioeconomic status and poor hygiene. The results may explain why the rate of infection is so high in poorer countries and in socioeconomic groups characterized by crowded living conditions, poor sanitary conditions, and lack of clean water.Endoscopy also allows determination of the severity of gastritis with biopsies as well as the presence of ulcers.

Biography

Sonia Shahid is a final year M.B.B.S student of Karachi Medical and Dental College, Karachi Pakistan. She has been a part of several national and international researches and many are ongoing. She has attended several national and international seminars and conferences. She has good knowledge of clinical practices and protocols in variety of settings. Sonia is an inquisitive student with a passion for education as a power for change and improvement in the healthcare field of her country and is very ambitious in pursuing her career.

Email: dr.sonyashahid@gmail.com