[Incidence of Helicobacter pylori in Barrett esophagus]

In Barrett's esophagus the normal squamous epithelium of the mucosa is replaced by columnar epithelium. In this study, we evaluated the incidence of Helicobacter pylori in 28 patients with Barrett's esophagus. In 11 patients (39%) H. Pylori was present and all of them had the bacteria in the gastric antrum. From the 17 patients without H. pylori in the Barrett's mucosa, in 4 (22%) the bacteria was present in the gastric antrum. In conclusion, H. pylori infects the esophagus only when the esophageal mucosa is replaced by the columnar epithelium. The clinical significance of this finding is yet to be determined.