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. 2021 Jun 28:9:e11546.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.11546. eCollection 2021.

Helicobacter pylori prevalence in healthy Mexican children: comparison between two non-invasive methods

Verónica I Martínez-Santos  1 , Manuel Hernández Catalán  2 , Luis Octavio Ojeda Salazar  2 , Octavio Andrei Orozco Gómez  2 , Sandra Ines Lorenzo  2 , Rayver Santos Gómez  3 , Norma S Romero-Castro  4 , Roxana Reyes Ríos  5 , Dinorah Nashely Martinez Carrillo  2 , Gloria Fernández-Tilapa  2
Affiliations

Helicobacter pylori prevalence in healthy Mexican children: comparison between two non-invasive methods

Verónica I Martínez-Santos et al. PeerJ. .

Abstract

Background: Helicobacter pylori detection in asymptomatic children with suspected infection or with symptoms that suggest gastric pathology is problematic, since most of the methods depend on the endoscopic study, an invasive and expensive method. Non-invasive methods can be a feasible alternative but must be validated. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the concordance between H. pylori DNA detection in saliva and dental plaque by PCR, with antigen detection in stool by immunochromatography, among asymptomatic children in the state of Guerrero, Mexico.

Methods: Dental plaque, saliva, and stool samples were obtained from 171 children between 6 and 12 years old. H. pylori detection in saliva and dental plaque was performed by PCR using specific primers for the 16S rRNA gene, while the detection in stool samples was performed by immunochromatography using the CerTest kit.

Results: We found an overall H. pylori prevalence of 59.6% (102/171). Of the H. pylori positive children 18% (20/111) were positive in saliva samples, 28.1% (34/121) in dental plaque samples, and 50.4% (71/141) in stool samples. A higher prevalence was found in girls (64.7%, p = 0.002). Although some of the children declared some dyspeptic symptoms, these were no related to H. pylori. In conclusion, we found a high prevalence of H. pylori in asymptomatic children and the highest proportion was detected by stool antigen test, which was the most feasible method to detect H. pylori infection.

Keywords: Children; H. pylori; Mexico; Non-invasive methods; Prevalence.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Representative results of H. pylori detection in oral samples.
H. pylori DNA (Hp 16S) detection in (A) dental plaque and (B) saliva samples of asymptomatic children 6 to 12 years old. Lanes: MW-molecular weight marker; −C, negative control; +C, positive control; DP-127 and DP-128, H. pylori positive samples; DP-129, H. pylori negative sample; S-019, H. pylori positive sample; S-001, S-072, and S-055, H. pylori negative samples. IL-1β product was amplified as a DNA integrity control. DP, dental plaque; S, saliva.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Representative results of H. pylori detection in feces.
Negative (UAO-011 y UAO-010) and positive (UAO-008 y UAO-003) samples are shown. The green band is the control, and the red line indicates H. pylori presence.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Distribution of positive results.
Venn diagram showing the number of H. pylori positive children according to sample type.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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