Infection in Cirrhotic Patients With Portal Hypertensive Gastropathy: A New Enigma?

The relationship between () infection and Portal hypertensive gastropathy (PHG) is still a debatable matter. The aim of this study is to find out how common infection is in cirrhotic patients with PHG and to see if there's a link between infection and PHG severity. Out of 340 cirrhotic patients who had upper Gastrointestinal Tract (GIT) endoscopy for early varices screening, 160 cirrhotic patients were selected and divided into 2 groups; 80 cirrhotic patients with PHG (cases) and 80 cirrhotic patients without PHG (controls). Gastric biopsies were taken from all enrolled patients for histological evaluation for the presence or absence of infection. was found in 44 cirrhotic patients (55%) who had PHG (cases), compared to 22 cirrhotic patients (27.5%) who did not have PHG (controls). The prevalence of infection was significantly higher in patients with PHG ( < 0.001). The severity of PHG was associated with infection ( < 0.001). The response to eradication therapy of infection was must better in patients without PHG ( = 0.045). By multi-variant analysis, infection, splenic diameter, and portal vein diameter were independent predictors for PHG presence. After treating infection in patients who tested positive for , there was a significant reduction in PHG severity ( < 0.001). Patients with PHG have a greater prevalence of infection. PHG is more severe in patients infected with . To improve PHG severity, cirrhotic patients must have their infection eradicated.