title: Subtypes of intestinal metaplasia and Helicobacter pylori.
abstract: To determine whether there is a relationship between the presence of H pylori and the various subtypes of intestinal metaplasia in the gastric antrum, 2274 antral gastroscopic biopsies from 533 patients were examined. H pylori was found in 289 patients. Intestinal metaplasia in general was found in 135 patients. Type I intestinal metaplasia was found in 133 patients (98.5%), type II in 106 patients (78.5%) and type III in 21 patients (15.6%). Ninety eight of these 135 patients (72.6%) were H pylori positive and 37 patients (27.4%) were H pylori negative. No statistically significant difference was found in the prevalence of type I and II intestinal metaplasia between the intestinal metaplasia positive and H pylori positive and intestinal metaplasia negative and H pylori negative patients. Type III intestinal metaplasia was found less often in the intestinal metaplasia positive and H pylori positive patients (11.2%) as compared with intestinal metaplasia positive and H pylori negative patients (27%) (p less than 0.05). In contrast with type I and II intestinal metaplasia type III intestinal metaplasia was found more often in moderate/severe intestinal metaplasia than in mild intestinal metaplasia (p less than 0.02). Within the group of patients with moderate/severe intestinal metaplasia, type III was found less often in the H pylori positive patients (p less than 0.05). We suggest that the gastric milieu for H pylori is less appropriate in type III intestinal metaplasia positive patients. As type III intestinal metaplasia might be regarded as a marker of possibly increased gastric cancer risk, the lower prevalence of H pylori in these type III intestinal metaplasia positive patients might be the result of severe changes in mucosal architecture.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, St Elisabeth's of Groote Gasthuis, Boerhaavelaan, Haarlem, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Craanen
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Blok
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dekker
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ferwerda
authors.forename: G N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Tytgat
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology*; D005756:Gastritis / Q000382:microbiology; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000473:pathology*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007422:Intestines / Q000473:pathology; D008679:Metaplasia / Q000382:microbiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011706:Pyloric Antrum / Q000382:microbiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology