Helicobacter pylori in peptic ulcer disease in Kenya.

Sixty six patients with dyspeptic symptoms underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and biopsies for Helicobacter pylori culture. The number of H. pylori isolated increased with age reaching a peak at 51 to 60 years of age. Antral gastritis closely followed by duodenitis accounted for the highest number of H. pylori isolated, (87.5% and 85.7% respectively). In patients with duodenal ulceration only, 57% had H. pylori isolated from their antral biopsies, a result that was just slightly higher than that where no endoscopic diagnosis was made (50%).