Does Helicobacter pylori have a pathogenic role in bronchiectasis?
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the presence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in bronchial biopsies of patients with bronchiectasis, by histochemical and immunochemical staining.


METHODS
800-bed tertiary university hospital.


METHODS
Observational study.


METHODS
forty-six patients with bronchiectasis in a stable clinical condition and 8 control patients.


METHODS
Serum samples determination of IgG levels for H. pylori by ELISA. Immunostaining with an anti-H. pylori antibody (NCL-HPp, Novocastra) of bronchial mucosa obtained by fiberoptic bronchoscopy from both patients with bronchiectasis and controls.


RESULTS
Twenty-one out of 46 patients with bronchiectasis (46%) had positive serology for H. pylori. We obtained 40 bronchial biopsies in patients with bronchiectasis and 8 bronchial biopsies in control patients. No evidence of H. pylori was obtained in the bronchial samples of both patients and controls.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of our study could not demonstrate the presence of H. pylori in bronchial specimens from patients with bronchiectasis.
Angrill
J
J
Servei de Pneumologia, Hospital Clínic, Institut d'lnvestigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Villarroel 170, 08036 Barcelona, Spain. jangrill@clinic.ub.es
Sánchez
N
N
Agustí
C
C
Guilemany
J M A
JM
Miquel
R
R
Gomez
J
J
Torres
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D001706:Biopsy; D001980:Bronchi / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D001987:Bronchiectasis / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000150:complications*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014797:Vital Capacity
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G