[Helicobacter pylori and ulcer disease].

There is a strong association between Helicobacter pylori and peptic ulcer and chronic gastritis. It has been shown, furthermore, that the relapse rate after a healed duodenal ulcer is much reduced when the treatment has also eradicated H pylori from the antrum ventriculi. We have tried two simple and rapid tests for diagnosing H pylori infection on biopsies taken at gastroscopy. We found a significantly larger number of cases with H pylori among patients with peptic ulcer than among patients with normal gastroscopic findings. Culturing the biopsy proved to be successful, even though transport to the laboratory took about 24 hours. It has been proved simple to diagnose H pylori, but any practical implications of this fact remain to be seen.