DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2017.v05i04.006

Pages: 1230-1239

H. pylori infection induces chronic active gastritis that develops with time in a proportion of infected people to atrophic gastritis (AG) and acid free or hypochlorhydric stomach. Objective: Use of a non-invasive serum biomaker test [Pepsinogen-I (PG-I) and -II (PG-II), amidated gastrin-17 (G- 17), and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) IgG antibodies], to determine the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and atrophic gastritis (AG), both known to increase the risk of gastric cancer (GC). Subjects consulting for various dyspeptic complaints were prospectively recruited on voluntary basis at the Tombel District Hospital, Yaounde Central Hospital and University Teaching Hospital, from 2008 to 2016. 287 were enrolled 18-84 years (mean±SD 40.08±15.37), including 80 males aged 22-84 years (mean±SD 45.15±15.72) and 207 females aged 18-83 years (mean±SD 46.43±15.24) were examined with a panel of biomarkers. The results were assigned in five categories according to the test panel: 1) Healthy stomach, 2) superficial or non atrophic gastritis associated H. pylori infection, 3) atrophic gastritis (AG) of the corpus, 4) AG of the antrum, and 5) AG of both antrum and corpus (pangastritis). Results: 51 (17.8%) of the subjects were interpreted as normal.226(78.7%) were positive for H. pylori (all cases included), 209 (72.8%) had H pylori-infection (with superficial or no atrophic gastritis). 27 subjects (9.4%) presented with the Gastro Panel results consistent with mucosal atrophy, including atrophic gastritis of the antrum (n=9, 3.1%), corpus, (n=10, 3.5%) or both, pangastritis (n=8, 3.1%).