Clinical and Experimental Gastroenterology (Aug 2017)

Lymphoid follicles in children with Helicobacter pylori-negative gastritis

  • Broide E,
  • Richter V,
  • Mendlovic S,
  • Shalem T,
  • Eindor-Abarbanel A,
  • Moss SF,
  • Shirin H

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 10
pp. 195 – 201

Abstract

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Efrat Broide,1–3,* Vered Richter,2,* Sonia Mendlovic,4 Tzippora Shalem,1,5 Adi Eindor-Abarbanel,5 Steven F Moss,6 Haim Shirin2,3 1Pediatric Gastroenterology Service, Kamila Gonczarowski Institute of Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Tzrifin, Israel; 2Gastroenterology Service, Kamila Gonczarowski Institute of Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Tzrifin, Israel; 3Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 4Pathology Institute, Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Tzrifin, Israel; 5Department of Pediatrics, Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Tzrifin, Israel; 6Division of Gastroenterology, Rhode Island Hospital, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA *These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori gastritis has been declining, whereas H. pylori-negative gastritis has become more common. We evaluated chronic gastritis in children with regard to H. pylori status and celiac disease (CD). Patients and methods: Demographic, clinical, endoscopic, and histologic features of children who underwent elective esophagogastroduodenoscopy were reviewed retrospectively. Gastric biopsies from the antrum and corpus of the stomach were graded using the Updated Sydney System. H. pylori presence was defined by hematoxylin and eosin, Giemsa, or immunohistochemical staining and urease testing. Results: A total of 184 children (61.9% female) met the study criteria with a mean age of 10 years. A total of 122 (66.3%) patients had chronic gastritis; 74 (60.7%) were H. pylori-negative. Children with H. pylori-negative gastritis were younger (p=0.003), were less likely to present with abdominal pain (p=0.02), and were mostly of non-Arabic origin (p=0.011). Nodular gastritis was found to be less prevalent in H. pylori-negative gastritis (6.8%) compared with H. pylori-positive gastritis (35.4%, p<0.001). The grade of mononuclear infiltrates and neutrophil density was more severe in the H. pylori-positive group (p<0.001). Pan-gastritis and lymphoid follicles were associated most commonly with H. pylori. Although less typical, lymphoid follicles were demonstrated in 51.3% of H. pylori-negative patients. The presence or absence of CD was not associated with histologic findings in H. pylori-negative gastritis. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that lymphoid follicles are a feature of H. pylori-negative gastritis in children independent of their CD status. Keywords: child, gastritis, Helicobacter pylori, lymphoid follicles

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