Crohn's Disease of the Upper Gastrointestinal Tract: Endoscopic and Histologic Characteristics and Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori Infection.
- Author:
Yong Hee JOUNG
1
;
Dong Gun LEE
;
Hyo Jong KIM
;
Yun Wha KIM
;
Bynung Ok LEE
;
Yo Seb HAN
;
Seok Ho DONG
;
Byung Ho KIM
;
Young Woon CHANG
;
Jung Il LEE
;
Rin CHANG
Author Information
1. Department of Gastroenterology, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. hjkim@khmc.or.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Crohn's disease;
Helicobacter pylori
- MeSH:
Biopsy;
Crohn Disease*;
Duodenum;
Gastritis;
Gastrointestinal Tract;
Granuloma;
Helicobacter pylori*;
Helicobacter*;
Humans;
Korea;
Prevalence*;
Upper Gastrointestinal Tract*
- From:Korean Journal of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
2003;27(1):1-9
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND/AIMS: It is well known that Crohn's disease (CD) can affect all gastrointestinal tract. However, there was no report that evaluated upper gastrointestinal CD in Korea. Therefore, we assessed the endoscopic and histological characteristics of gastrointestinal CD and the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in Korea. METHODS: We examined forty-six patients who were diagnosed as having CD in Kyung Hee University Hospital. We analyzed the endoscopic and histological characteristics by endoscopic examination with biopsy and the prevalence of H. pylori infection. We also investigated the immunohistochemical characteristics of the biopsy specimen and assessed the effects of medications on both histologic and bacteriologic status. RESULTS: High proportion (69.6%) of CD patients showed upper gastrointestinal mucosal alterations. Erosive endoscopic alteration was the most common finding with major involvement in the antrum and duodenum. In H. pylori negative CD patients, granuloma and focal gastritis were found in 30.6% and 44.4% of cases, respectively. There were no significant correlations between histologic features and clinical characeteristics of CD. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that histologic demonstration of focal gastritis and/or granuloma on endoscopic biopsy specimens in oligosymptomatic patients, especially in H. pylori negative patients, might be considered as patients with possible CD.
