[Helicobacter pylori colonization of the gastric mucosa in rheumatic patients]

This study examines whether infections with Helicobacter pylori are more frequent in patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis than in patients with non-inflammatory rheumatic diseases. The study furthermore examines whether the colonisation by H. pylori is favoured by antiphlogistic-antirheumatic treatment. For this purpose gastric biopsies obtained by endoscopy from 123 patients were histologically evaluated for the presence of H. pylori. 85 patients with rheumatoid arthritis were compared with 38 patients with non-inflammatory rheumatic diseases. Although an increased susceptibility for infections can be expected in persons with rheumatoid arthritis undergoing long-term antirheumatic treatment, this could not be confirmed by our results for the colonisation of the stomach by H. pylori. It is therefore statistically confirmed that rheumatoid arthritis itself and treatment with short-term effective antirheumatic drugs has no significant influence on the colonisation rate. Still it is doubtful whether any lesion associated with NSAR and H. pylori must necessarily be considered an NSAR-"induced". Future studies will have to elaborate whether NSAR in H. pylori infected mucosa will lead to higher incidence of damage.