Does Helicobacter pylori infection play a role in the pathogenesis of non-ulcer dyspepsia--a study of gastric emptying time

Abstract

To investigate the relationship between gastric motility and Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia, 28 patients and 10 asymptomatic healthy persons underwent gastroduodenal endoscope examinations and scintigraphic test of solid phase gastric emptying time using Chinese fried rice as a test meal. Clinical symptoms were also recorded using questionnaires for scoring. Half emptying times for ingested food (t1/2) between H. pylori infected (190.86 +/- 112.53 minutes) and uninfected patients (227.69 +/- 179.29 minutes) were not different statistically. Seven of the 15 patients with H. pylori infection (46.6%) had delayed gastric emptying time (t1/2 > 197.7 minutes), compared to 4 out of 13 without infection (30.07%) (p > 0.05). There was also no association between the status of H. pylori infection and severity of clinical symptoms (total symptoms scores: H. pylori positive: 10.07 +/- 3.84; H. pylori negative: 7.62 +/- 2.25) (p > 0.05). Seven patients from whom H. pylori was found to have been eradicated using triple therapy (colloid bismuth subcitrate 120 mg q i d, tetracycline 500 mg q i d and metronidazole 250 mg q i d for 14 days) did not show significant changes in gastric emptying time (before: 171.14 +/- 128.13; after: 158.57 +/- 182.49 minutes) but showed improvement in total symptoms scores (before: 9.28 +/- 3.85; after: 3.85 +/- 4.22) (p = 0.0277).

Conclusions: infection by H. pylori in patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia did not influence solid phase of gastric emptying time and was not associated with clinical symptoms. Eradication of H. pylori infection relieved the clinical symptoms of the patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)