[Clinicopathological characteristics of uninvestigated dyspepsia in Spain].
BACKGROUND
Most patients with uninvestigated dyspepsia are diagnosed with functional dyspepsia. Various types of Helicobacter pylori gastritis have been described, each of which is associated with a distinct natural history of the infection (i.e. a different risk of ulcer or gastric cancer).


OBJECTIVE
To determine the clinical and pathological characteristics of patients with uninvestigated dyspepsia in our area and the prevalence of the distinct types of H. pylori gastritis among patients with functional dyspepsia.


METHODS
Ninety-eight patients (47 men and 51 women, mean age 35.8+/-13 years) with uninvestigated dyspepsia were included in this study. All the patients completed the Dyspepsia-Related Health Scale and all patients underwent gastroscopy with biopsy and the C13-urea breath test.


RESULTS
Fourteen patients had organic causes of dyspepsia and 78 had functional dyspepsia. Fifty-one patients with functional dyspepsia (65%) had H. pylori infection; of these, 27 had pangastritis, 21 had antrum-predominant gastritis, 2 had multifocal atrophic gastritis and 1 had normal gastric mucosa. Among uninfected patients, 2 had multifocal atrophic gastritis.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of functional dyspepsia in this series was 85%. Twenty-seven percent of patients with functional dyspepsia had a combination of H. pylori infection and antrum-predominant gastritis, the type of gastritis predisposing to duodenal ulcer. Only 5% of the patients had multifocal atrophic gastritis, which is associated with a high risk of gastric cancer.
Pérez-Grueso Macías
María José
MJ
Servicio de Aparato Digestivo, Hospital Virgen de la Salud, Toledo, Spain.
Valle Muñoz
Julio
J
González de Frutos
Concepción
C
Artaza Varasa
Tomás
T
Rodríguez-Merlo
Rufo
R
Alcántara Torres
Mariano
M
Carrobles Jiménez
José María
JM
D000328:Adult; D004415:Dyspepsia / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005756:Gastritis / Q000382:microbiology*; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000150:complications*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013030:Spain