Ten year follow up study of lymphocytic gastritis: Further evidence on Helicobacter pylori as a cause of lymphocytic gastritis and corpus gastritis

Abstract

Airns-To examine the course of lymphocytic gastritis and its relation to Helicobacter pylori (H pylon) infection in a 10 year follow up. Methods-Ninety six patients were originally examined for dyspepsia in 1981. Gastroscopies with stepwise biopsies were performed on all the patients initially and after an interval of 10 years. Results-Nine per cent of the patients (9/ 96) had features of lymphocytic gastritis in gastric biopsy at the first examination, and 12*% (12/96) at the second examination; 7/9 patients (78%) had persistent lymphocytic gastritis during the follow up; in two the diagnostic features of lymphocytic gastritis had disappeared, and five had a new diagnosis of lymphocytic gastritis at the second examination. At the second examination 9/12 lymphocytic gastritis patients (75%) were Hpylori positive histologically, while all had specific antibodies to Hpylori. The lymphocytic gastritis patients had higher grades of gastritis (p = 0009), neutrophilic and eosinophilic granulocytes, mononuclear inflammatory cells, and foveolar hyperplasia in the corpus mucosa, but smaller numbers of H pylori, than the Hpyloni positive patients without lymphocytic gastritis. The appearance of lymphocytic gastritis during the 10 year interval was associated with increases in the grades of corpus gastritis and neutrophilic granulocytes (p = 0-043 for both). During the follow up, the patients with lymphocytic gastritis, but not the H pylori positive patients without lymphocytic gastritis, appeared to have a significant increase in the grade of intestinal metaplasia in the corpus mucosa (p = 0.043). Conclusions-In some patients H pyloni may cause a gastritis that predominates in the corpus and is associated with an increase in the intraepithelial lymphocyte count. This form of gastritis may cause progression of intestinal metaplasia.