Helicobacter pylori eradication as prevention against chronic peptic ulcer disease in children.

The changes caused by Helicobacter pylori are a slow, progressing inflammatory process developing from several to dozen years. H. pylori infection leads to an inflammatory response in the gastric mucosa with granulocyte infiltrates in an acute form of the inflammation, and lymphocytes, plasmatic, macrophages and eosinophils in a chronic form inducing the development of gastric and duodenal ulcers and gastric cancer in some patients. The frequency and the type of morphological changes in the gastric mucosa were analyzed in children with positive IgG against H. pylori and the incidence of gastric and duodenal ulcers in family members of children examined was evaluated in our study. Gastritis was reported in 68.8% of children with positive IgG against H. pylori. Gastric ulcer was confirmed in 37.1% of families of children included in the study. Duodenal ulcers were found in 22.9% of families. The results obtained, indicate the usefulness of long-term observation and clinical follow-up of children with chronic gastritis of H. pylori ethiology taking into consideration bacterium eradication as prophylaxis of peptic ulceration.