Mucosal polymerase chain reaction for diagnosing Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with bleeding peptic ulcers

AIM: Helicobacter pylori(H pylon) has been linked to chronic gastritis, peptic ulcers, gastric cancer and MALT-lymphoma.Conventional invasive tests are less sensitive than noninvasive tests in diagnosing Hpyloriinfection in patients with bleeding peptic ulcers. Polymerase chain reaction is a sensitive and accurate method for diagnosing H pylori infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic role of mucosal polymerase chain reaction for H pylori infection in patients with bleeding peptic ulcers.METHODS: In patients with bleeding, non-bleeding peptic ulcers and chronic gastritis, we checked rapid urease test,histology, bacterial culture and mucosal polymerase chain reaction for detecting H pylori infection. Positive H pylori infection was defined as positive culture or both a positive histology and a positive rapid urease test. For mucosal polymerase chain reaction of Hpylori we checked vacA(sla, slb, s1c, s2, m1, m1T, m2), iceA1, iceA2 and cagA.RESULTS: Between October 2000 and April 2002, 88 patients with bleeding peptic ulcers (males/females: 60/28, gastric ulcers/duodenal ulcers: 55/33), 81 patients with non-bleeding peptic ulcers (males/females: 54/27, gastric ulcers/duodenal ulcers: 45/36) and 37 patients with chronic gastritis (males/females: 24/13) were enrolled in this study. In patients with bleeding peptic ulcers, non-bleeding peptic ulcers and chronic gastritis, 45 patients (51%), 71 patients (88%) and 20 patients (54%) respectively were found to have positive Hpyloriinfection (P