Role of Helicobacter Pylori in Cirrhotic Patients with Dyspepsia: a 13C-urea Breath Test Study

The role of Helicobacter pylori in dyspeptic, cirrhotic patients remains unclear. This prospective outpatient study, conducted to assess the relationship of gastroduodenal disease and H. pylori as determined by the (13C) urea breath test, enrolled 109 consecutive cirrhotic patients with dyspepsia. All patients underwent upper-gastrointestinal endoscopy, which revealed respective prevalences of peptic ulcer, gastric ulcer, and duodenal ulcer of 41.3%, 23.9%, and 22.9%; H. pylori infection was found in 52.3%. The rate of peptic ulcer disease in the H. pylori-positive (45.6%) and -negative (36.5%) groups was not significantly different; neither was the prevalence of H. pylori in patients with or without portal hypertensive gastropathy and with or without esophageal varices. The relationship between peptic ulcer disease and H. pylori in dyspeptic patients with cirrhosis appears to be weak. Likewise, no significant relationship was evident between H. pylori and portal hypertensive gastropathy or esophageal varices. This organism may not be a major pathogenetic factor in gastroduodenal diseases in dyspeptic patients with cirrhosis.