Duodenal ulcer and infection with Helicobacter pylori.

The incidence of gastritis with Helicobacter pylori (HP) was studied in 225 patients with active duodenal ulcer diagnosed endoscopically. The infection was diagnosed by the urease test and in some cases by histopathological examination. Infection with Helicobacter pylori was detected in 55% of the patients, a proportion much smaller than the one generally reported in the literature, a rather surprising fact for our sanitary conditions. This might mean that in our country unlike the west-European countries other pathogenetic factors could be more important than HP.