Role of helicobacter pylori in patients with portal hypertensive gastropaty by liver cirrhosis hepatitis C virus-related

AIM: Portal hypertensive gastropathy (PHG) defines a pathological endoscopic picture characterized by the presence of alterations of the gastric mucosa found in patients with hepatopathy associated to an initial or evident portal hypertension. Gastropathy appears with two forms of different seriousness: the mild form, characterized by diffused congestion, petechiae of gastric mucosa (scarlatina type rash) and by the presence of typical hyperemic and edematous polygonal areas, delimited by a thin snake skin reticulation. In the severe form, together with such aspects, mucosal erosion, red spots, or a diffused hemorrhagic gastropathy are added. The pre-eminent pathogenetic element of such lesions seems to be the pathological increase of the portal pressure. The role of the Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in the development of these alterations, in terms of prevalence of infection in hepatopathic subjects, is still controversial. The authors have performed a research to verify if the H. pylori infection is correlated to the presence and/or to the gravity of PHG.METHODS: One-hundred and nine patients, all suffering from hepatitis C virus (HCV)-correlated liver cirrhosis, with clinical and/or instrumental signs of portal hypertension have been analysed.RESULTS: The histological prevalence of the infection from H. pylori in our statistical analysis was of 23.8% (26/109 patients).CONCLUSIONS: The H. pylori infection appears to be not significant for the determination and the preservation of PHG.