Helicobacter Pylori Infection and Gastroesophageal Reflux in Asthmatic Children

Abstract

The aim of this article is to investigate the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection, frequency of gastroesophageal reflux (GER), existence of atopy and levels of serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) in children with bronchial asthma. One hundred and thirty seven children who were diagnosed as bronchial asthma and/or wheezy child aged between 1 and 17 years were enrolled into the study. Peripheral venous blood samples were obtained to determine the total IgE and HP IgG antibody levels. GER was evaluated by the scintigraphic method and the presence of atopy was investigated by skin prick test. The study was conducted in 86 (62.8%) boys and 51 (37.2%) girls. HP IgG antibody levels were found negative in 125 (91.2%) and positive in 12 (8.8%) cases. GER was detected in 73 (53.7%) of the children. Forty-one (37.3%) children were accepted as atopic according to skin prick test results. The average total IgE levels of the participants was 168.89 +/- 270.76 IU/ml. A significant difference could not be determined related to GER, atopy frequency and serum IgE levels between the cases who had HP antibody positivity or not. The present findings suggest that the rate of HP antibody positivity is low in patients with bronchial asthma and a significant difference could not be determined in GER, and atopy between patients with positive and negative HP antibodies. High atopy frequency found in our patient group raises the question of whether allergic diseases can be protective against fecal-oral infectious diseases.

Faecal calprotectin concentrations in apparently healthy children aged 0-12 years in urban Kampala, Uganda: a community-based survey

“…An additionally 99 stool samples were lost during transport to the final laboratory. Children reporting chronic cough/asthma were included as no studies have not shown significant elevated concentrations of faecal calprotectin in children with asthma [25]. …”

Helicobacter pyloriin apparently healthy children aged 0-12 years in urban Kampala, Uganda: a community-based cross sectional survey

“…Fourteen potential participants (3.1%) were excluded into the final analysis due to medical conditions (3), positive HIV test (5), failure to produce a stool sample in 3 days (5), incomplete data (1), figure 1. Children reporting chronic cough/asthma were included as other studies have not shown a significant correlation between Helicobacter pylori colonization and asthma [26]. …”

Gastroesophageal reflux-associated aspiration alters the immune response in asthma

“…Asthma is the leading cause of chronic childhood illness in the United States, affecting approximately 54 of 1,000 children. In the pediatric population, GERD is increasingly postulated as a potential causative agent for asthma [7,12,13]. Consistent with this idea, a recent study demonstrated that 87% of children with asthma experienced pathologic GERD, as monitored by 24-h esophageal pH monitoring [14].…”