The presence of Helicobacter pylori in colorectal polyps detected by immunohistochemical methods in children.

AIM

Polyps are a common cause of hematochezia in children, but the pathogenesis of polyps is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection and colorectal polyps in children.

METHODS

Thirty-five patients who had undergone polypectomy after the detection of polyps served as the case group. Twenty-seven patients with gastrointestinal symptoms and normal colonoscopy served as the control group. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) stains obtained from paraffin blocks were evaluated and classified according to histopathologic type and degree of dysplasia. The other sections were used to detect HP organisms for immunohistochemistry (IHC). The seroprevalence of HP antibodies in children with colorectal polyps was detected by protein chip technology. HP infection was diagnosed if the serum urease antibody was positive.

RESULTS

The HP-positive rate in children with colorectal polyps was 57.1% (20/35), which was higher than the rate of 22.2% (6/27) for colonic mucosa in the control group (P < 0.01). The differences in the presence and absence of HP infection between patients with juvenile polyps and juvenile polyposis syndrome were not statistically significant. Age, gender, and the number, size, and locations of the colonic polyps were not significantly different between the patients with HP-positive and HP-negative polyps. The HP-antibody-positive rate was 65.0% (13/20) in the patients with HP-infection-positive colorectal polyps, which was higher than the rate of 26.7% (4/15) for the patients with HP-infection-negative colorectal polyps (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest a positive association between HP infection and colorectal polyps in children in this study, indicating that HP infection is a risk factor for colorectal polyps in children.