Reflux gastritis in gastroesophageal reflux disease: A histopathological study

Increased intragastric alkaline reflux has been documented in patients with reflux esophagitis; however, the effect on gastric histology has not been investigated in this population. We examined gastric biopsies from 72 non-acid-suppressed patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) for changes of reflux gastritis or other forms of gastritis. In the Helicobacter pylori-negative GERD patients (n = 52) using the Dixon scoring system for reflux gastritis with a threshold score of >/=11, reflux gastritis was found in 15% (three of 20) of GERD patients with erosions and in no GERD patients without erosions. When the reflux gastropathy threshold score was changed to more than 8, 90% (18 of 20) of GERD patients with erosions and 19% (six of 32) of GERD patients without erosions were classified as having reflux gastritis. Regardless of the reflux gastritis threshold used, only 14% (seven of 52) of the H pylori-negative GERD patients exhibited normal gastric histology. Inactive chronic gastritis or nonspecific reactive changes were histologic findings in those gastric biopsies not classified as reflux gastritis or normal. All H pylori-positive GERD patients (n = 20) had active chronic gastritis. We conclude that most GERD patients will exhibit some form of gastric pathology: either reflux gastritis, chronic gastritis, or nonspecific reactive changes, depending on what reflux threshold score is applied and the presence of H pylori. Studies to define the intragastric alkaline content in conjunction with gastric histopathology need to be performed to further define those reflux esophagitis patients with reflux gastritis.