Impact of Helicobacter pylori-giardiasis coinfection on children with recurrent abdominal pain.

Recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) affects 10-20% of school-aged children. Helicobacter pylori and Giardia intestinalis were reported among organic causes of RAP, with different prevalence particularly in developing countries as common association diseases causing agents. This study evaluated the incidence of H. pylori and G. intestinalis co-infection in RAP Egyptian among 90 children and 90 crossmatched healthy controls. H. pylori (HP) infection was diagnosed by detection of HP stool antigen (HPSA), ELISA and/or HP antibody (IgG), ELISA in serum, while G. intestinalis by stained stool smears. The HP infection was detected in 60 (66.7%) patients and 37 (41%) controls with a statistically significant difference p=0.001. Giardiasis was found in 47 (52.2%) patients and 30 (33.3%) controls with a statistically significant difference p= 0.02. The incidence of HP infection among cases was higher among age group above 5 years (p=0.001), as a significant predictor for RAP. The association of H. pylori and G. intestinalis was among 36 (40.0%) patients and 11 (12.2%) controls with a significant difference (p<0.001).