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BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown that the eradication of Helicobacter pylori results in a gastric acid secretion which decreases to normal levels in patients with duodenal ulcer disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of eradication of H. pylori in a 24-h study of gastric acidity in patients with atrophic gastritis of the corpus. METHODS: Intragastric acidity was measured by continuous 24-h pH monitoring, and the histology of the gastric antrum and corpus were evaluated in 14 H. pylori-positive patients with histologically proven atrophic gastritis of the corpus (10 men, 4 women; mean age, 57 years) before and 1 year after anti-H. pylori therapy. RESULTS: H. pylori was absent in 13 of 14 patients 1 year after treatment. Both gastritis and atrophy scores were significantly lower after eradication therapy (P < 0.01). The 24-h median pH and the percentage of 24-h pH readings above 4.0 units were significantly decreased after eradication therapy (from 5.12 +/- 0.36 to 2.69 +/- 0.21, and from 65.5 +/- 6.6% to 28.2 +/- 6.1%, P < 0.01, respectively.) CONCLUSION: Eradication of H. pylori increases 24-h gastric acidity in patients with atrophic gastritis of the corpus. Improvement of the histology of the gastric antrum and corpus may lead to the normalization of gastric acidity.
Haruma et al. (Mon,) studied this question.