Gastritis prevalence and presence of helicobacter pylori in a city in the north of Parana state, Brazil

Helicobacter pylori (HP) is a gastric spiral-shaped bacterium reported in humans more than one century ago. It is a fastidious bacterium that shows high motility easy penetration into the mucosa of the stomach. It is considered the major cause of gastric diseases, especially gastritis and peptic ulcers. If these conditions are not treated can evolve into some types of gastric cancer. For these reasons, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of this microorganism in a city from Parana State, Brazil. This retrospective study was carried out at a Medical Unit. Almost 500 Medical charts were analyzed, and 120 medical records of patients with gastritis and peptic ulcers submitted to the Upper Digestive Endoscopy examination were selected. During the examination, fragments of the gastric mucosa were collected to perform the urease test. Our results showed that there was a higher prevalence of HP in patients aged 36-75 years and gastritis is more prevalent in patients with HP. All the patients with peptic ulcer were positive for this bacterium. It is known that HP plays a critical role in the induction of gastrointestinal diseases such as peptic ulcers, and gastric cancer. Furthermore, many epidemiological studies also showed that patients infected with this bacterium showed the growing incidence of gastric carcinoma. For these reasons, studies showing the prevalence of this infection may help in the treatment and prevention of complications that may result from HP infection.