Influence of Helicobacter pylori infection on gastric acid secretion in pre-school Bangladeshi children.

The effect of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection on gastric acid secretion (GAS) is poorly defined in children. To determine whether H. pylori infection is associated with abnormal GAS in children. We studied 30 H. pylori-infected children (identified by a positive urea breath test) and 30 noninfected children of both sexes, aged 2-5 years. Gastric pH and GAS were measured before and 8 weeks after the completion of a 2-week course of anti- H. pylori therapy (omeprazole, clarithromycin, and amoxicillin). Gastric acid output (GAO) was quantified during a 1-h basal period (GAO-B) (mmol/h) and a 1-hour stimulated period (GAO-S) (mmol/hour) following subcutaneous administration of pentagastrin (6 μg/kg). A significantly greater number of infected children had a high gastric pH (>4.0, p = 0.03) compared with the noninfected group. GAO-B and GAO-S in H. pylori-infected children were significantly lower, around 50%, compared with children without H. pylori infection. H. pylori-eradication therapy resulted in a rise of both the mean GAO-B (paired t-test before vs. after therapy; 0.28 ± 0.40 vs. 0.62 ± 1.0, p = 0.12) and GAO-S (before vs. after therapy; 2.0 ± 1.4 vs. 3.4 ± 2.5, p = 0.001), with values reaching equivalence to those in the H. pylori-negative children (0.71 ± 0.56 for BAO, 3.3 ± 2.0 for SAO, p = NS). The results suggest that the gastric barrier is compromised in children with H. pylori infection in Bangladesh. Improvement of GAO following anti- H. pylori therapy suggests a causal link between H. pylori infection and depressed GAO in this population. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Citation

Shafiqul A Sarker, Shamima Sultana, Samima Sattar, Tahmeed Ahmed, Christoph Beglinger, Niklaus Gyr, George J Fuchs. Influence of Helicobacter pylori infection on gastric acid secretion in pre-school Bangladeshi children. Helicobacter. 2012 Oct;17(5):333-9

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PMID: 22967116

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