Clinical features of Helicobacter pylori antibody‐positive junior high school students in Nagano Prefecture, Japan

Abstract

Background Previously, we conducted an epidemiological study screening for Helicobacter pylori antibody positivity among Japanese junior high school students. In this study, we updated the epidemiological data and assessed the clinical features of H pylori antibody‐positive junior high school students. Materials and methods We assessed H pylori antibody‐positive subjects who were identified between 2012 and 2015 at four junior high schools in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. H pylori infection was confirmed by urea breath test (UBT) or endoscopic examination. Endoscopy was performed after obtaining consent from the subject and their guardians. Eradication therapy consisted of triple therapy with proton pump inhibitor (PPI), amoxicillin (AMPC), and clarithromycin (CAM) or metronidazole (MNZ) for seven days. Eradication of H pylori was confirmed by UBT. We reviewed subjects’ characteristics, endoscopic findings, histological findings, eradication regimes, outcomes, and adverse effects. Results The overall prevalence of H pylori antibody positivity was 3.2% (42/1298). We assessed thirteen H pylori antibody‐positive subjects. Eight subjects had a family history of H pylori infection. Six subjects had abdominal pain, and two subjects had iron deficiency anemia (IDA). Twelve subjects underwent endoscopy; one subject had duodenal ulcer, eleven subjects had antral nodular gastritis, and six subjects showed grade 2 closed type atrophic border according to the Kimura‐Takemoto classification. All subjects received eradication therapy; CAM was used in five subjects with CAM susceptibility as well as in three subjects with unknown information on CAM susceptibility, and MNZ was used in five subjects with CAM resistance. Eradication was successful in twelve subjects (one unconfirmed). There were three mild adverse effects (abdominal pain or diarrhea). Conclusions Helicobacter pylori test for junior high school students represents an opportunity to diagnose the peptic ulcer, iron deficiency anemia, and gastric atrophy.

Prevalence and Risk Factors ofHelicobacter pyloriInfection among Children Aged 1 to 15 Years at Holy Innocents Children’s Hospital, Mbarara, South Western Uganda

“…There is also concentration at schools increasing the chance of person-to-person transmission [ 47 ]. Person-to-person transmission can also occur at home as long as there is an infected person in the home for few months [ 48 ].…”

Helicobacter pylori Infection Mass Screening for Children and Adolescents: a Systematic Review of Observational Studies

“…The excluded studies are detailed in Supplementary file 4. Finally, 39 studies met the inclusion criteria for analysis of which 14 were English original studies published by peer-review journals [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39], 7 Japanese original studies, [40][41][42][43][44][45][46], and 18 conference reports. [47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64]…”

Review: Helicobacter pylori infection in children

“…The therapeutic strategies for children and adolescents with H pylori infection developed in Europe and North America may not be appropriate for treating children and adolescents in all countries in the world because of the differences in the epidemiological characteristics of H pylori between regions 8 . In Japan, adolescents were included in the guidelines revised in 2016 for the management of H pylori infection to prevent gastric cancer and to prevent intra‐familial transmission, and they have also been included in the screening test‐endoscope‐treatment strategy 30,31 . In Korea, pediatric gastroenterologists treat children with H pylori infection according to the guidelines of Europe and North America and treat children when the parents want their child treated 32 …”