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- Title
Presence of Helicobacter pylori in the oral cavity of children and adolescents.
- Authors
Parzęcka, Monika; Szaflarska-Popławska, Anna; Gorzkiewicz, Marta
- Abstract
Introduction: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection can be maintained and transmitted through colonization of the oral cavity and production of spores. The bacterium can live, among others, on the dental plaque, in saliva, in the mucus membrane of cheeks and tongue. The presence of bacteria in the oral cavity is more likely in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease, as a result of backward migration of bacteria from the stomach. Aim of the study: To determine the prevalence of H. pylori in the oral cavity of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease. Material and methods: The prospective study included 146 children and adolescents, aged 3-18 years, with dyspeptic symptoms, in whom an endoscopic examination of the upper gastrointestinal tract was performed, and then the H. pylori infection was confirmed through histopathological examination and/or urease test, and urea breath test. The H. pylori bacteria found in the patients were then identified by using PCR of the stomach mucous membrane specimens, or swabs from the oral cavity (cheeks, tongue, throat). For all the patients, a 24-hour pH-metric record was done. Results: In the study group, 50 patients were diagnosed with H. pylori infection (group I). In 26 cases the result of pH-metric examination was abnormal (grupa Ia). In 24 patients the reflux index was lower than 4% (group Ib). Group II included 96 patients in whom the H. pylori infection was excluded. 44 were diagnosed with GER (group IIa); in 52 cases GER was excluded (group IIb). In both groups - I and II, irrespective of GER status, no presence of H. pylori in the oral cavity was found. Conclusion: The oral cavity does not always provide a reservoir of bacteria in patients with esophageal reflux disease and H. pylori infection. Determination of the presence of H. pylori in the oral cavity cannot substitute the diagnosis of this infection in the stomach.
- Subjects
HELICOBACTER pylori infections; MOUTH physiology; GASTROESOPHAGEAL reflux in children; SYMPTOMS; DENTAL plaque; HISTOPATHOLOGY
- Publication
Gastroenterologia Polska / Gastroenterology, 2012, Vol 19, Issue 3, p95
- ISSN
1232-9886
- Publication type
Article