Etiology and morphology of carditis: experiences from a single center in China.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the type of cardiac mucosa and its relationship with age and gender of the participants and to determine the coincidence of endoscopic and pathological diagnosis of carditis as well as its etiology.

METHODS

The data of 70 patients with carditis (the carditis group) and 30 individuals with endoscopically normal-appearing cardiac mucosa (the control group), including their baseline characteristics and histopathological findings, were reviewed. Their Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) status was also reviewed.

RESULTS

Three main types of cardiac mucosa: mucous, oxyntic and mixed types, were found in 45.0%, 40.0% and 15.0% of all the participants, respectively. The distribution of these types was related to the age of the participants but not to their gender. Moderate to severe mucosal inflammation was detected in 60.0% (18/30) of the control group. The etiologies of cardiac inflammation were H. pylori infection and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). For antral H. pylori-negative participants, cardiac mucosal inflammation was correlated with esophageal mucosal inflammation (P < 0.05), while for those with antral H. pylori infection it was associated with antral mucosal inflammation (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

The distribution of different cardiac mucosal types was related to the participants' age. Normal-appearing cardiac mucosa under endoscopy might present with histopathologically moderate to severe cardiac inflammation. The etiologies of cardiac inflammation were H. pylori infection and GERD. Different causes of carditis may result in the different histological performance of the cardia.