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Helicobacter pylori Infection in Elderly People (Does Quantitative Serological Testing Predict Gastroduodenal Ulcer Disease?)

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Abstract

Invasive diagnosis of peptic ulcer disease inthe aged often carries an increased risk. Recently acorrelation between high IgG serum antibodyconcentrations against H. pylori and a clinicaldiagnosis has been reported. In this study, we attempted toestablish a relationship between the magnitude of serumIgG antibody to H. pylori and the endoscopic diagnosesin H. pylori-infected elderly patients. All the patients aged 60 or older were entered intothe study prospectively. Those patients who hadulcerogenic medications or H. pylori eradication therapyprior to testing, or who were seronegative for H. pylori were excluded. Endoscopic diagnosesincluded duodenal ulcer, gastric ulcer, presence of bothgastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer, gastroduodenalerosions, and nonulcer dyspepsia. H. pylori IgG serology was determined by an enzyme-linkedimmunosorbent assay with values of greater than 50units/ml being seropositive. In all, 182 seropositiveelderly patients were recruited. The age was 68.8 +/6.7(mean ± SD) years (range = 60-94 years). Theserum IgG titers ranged from 51 units/ml to 800 units/mlwith a peak frequency at 50-99 units/ml (30.8%). Thequantitation of H. pylori IgG values and the endoscopic diagnoses failed to demonstrate anyrelationship of statistical significance. Our resultsindicate that the magnitude of H. pylori IgG serologycannot be used to predict the presence or absence ofpeptic ulcer disease in the elderly.

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  1. Chung-Jyi Tsai
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Tsai, CJ. Helicobacter pylori Infection in Elderly People (Does Quantitative Serological Testing Predict Gastroduodenal Ulcer Disease?). Dig Dis Sci 44, 96–101 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026606317755

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