Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in medical professionals in Spain

Does hospital work constitute a risk factor for Helicobacter pylori infection?

“…These studies, mainly performed by serological diagnosis, have yielded conflicting results about the rate of H. pylori infection among professionals performing gastroendoscopic procedures. Some studies have not found a statistically significant difference in the infection rates compared with controls, [16][17][18][19][20][21] while others have. [22][23][24][25][26][27] Consequently, a consensus has not been reached regarding the occupational risk for acquiring H. pylori infection.…”

“…[22][23][24][25][26][27] Consequently, a consensus has not been reached regarding the occupational risk for acquiring H. pylori infection. In these studies, different groups of subjects have been used as controls: blood donors; 23 healthy non-medical professionals; 21,24,25 and non-endoscopy medical personnel. 18,22 The H. pylori infection rate among patients undergoing endoscopy for upper gastrointestinal symptoms in Italy is as high as 71.3%; 28 therefore, medical and nursing staff involved in endoscopic procedures could have a high risk of occupational exposure.…”

Helicobacter pylori infection in hospital workers over a 5-year period: correlation with demographic and clinical parameters

“…[11][12][13][14][15][16] Nevertheless, an equally large number of studies did not find higher infection rates in medical staff and persons working at endoscopy units, compared with normal controls. [17][18][19][20][21][22][23] Our results showed that an increase in the risk of H. pylori infection among nurses certainly exists. This conclusion can be derived from the higher rate of infection observed in nursing staff compared with administrative and technical staff on multivariate analysis, although univariate analysis did not show any significant differences.…”

“…Indeed, increased seroprevalence of H. pylori in nursing staff and gastroenterologists has been reported in some studies, [11][12][13][14][15][16] although an equally large number of studies did not show any significant correlation between occupation and H. pylori infection. [17][18][19][20][21][22][23] All studies performed so far simply reflect the situation at the time of examination, which is a comparison of the prevalence of infection with H. pylori among medical and nursing staff and of the general population at a given time. So far, there has been no study comparing the rate of infection by H. pylori in the same cohort of hospital workers over a certain period of time.…”

Health-care workers are at risk of Helicobacter pylori infection

“…Epidemiological studies showed that H. pylori infection is more common in gastroenterologists performing endoscopy and in endoscopy nurses than in the general population, [14][15][16][17][18][19][20] but the results of the studies have been contradictory. [21][22][23] A prospective follow-up study showed that a group of gastroenterologists had a considerably higher risk of acquiring H. pylori infection than a matched control group. 24 As for other health-care workers, intensive-care nurses are at higher risk of H. pylori infection.…”