Prospective study on the distribution of Campylobacter pylori in unselected patients of an endoscopy unit in West Germany.

In recent years a series of publications predominantly from English speaking countries have reported on the colonization of the gastric epithelium with Campylobacter pylori in association with gastritis and ulcer disease. In this prospective study we investigated the distribution of Campylobacter pylori in unselected patients undergoing routine endoscopy at the Department of Gastroenterology of the University of Heidelberg. A total of 175 patients were included in the study. Campylobacter pylori could be demonstrated by microbiological and histological methods in 17% of patients with normal gastric mucosa, in 44% with chronic active gastritis and in 48% with stomach ulcer. In our series only 6/23 patients with duodenal ulcer were Campylobacter pylori positive. Additionally intragastric acidity and concentrations of total bile acids were correlated to the colonization of Campylobacter pylori. Bile acid concentrations were found significantly (p less than 0.001) lower in patients with gastritis when Campylobacter pylori was present. These data suggest an association of Campylobacter pylori with diseases of the stomach also in West Germany and a negative correlation of these organisms to enterogastric bile reflux.