Gastric histopathological findings in mucosal biopsies of symptomatic patients in jos central Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Dyspepsia is a common disease worldwide. It is a cause of great absenteeism from work with a lot of economic loss. In Jos, it is one of the most common complaints encountered in both general outpatient and specialist clinics. AIM: To evaluate the histopathological changes in gastric mucosa of patients presenting with symptoms of dyspepsia. METHODS: Cross sectional study. Gastric endoscopic biopsy specimens from 100 consecutive patients with symptoms of dyspepsia were histologically evaluated using the criteria of the updated Sydney system. RESULTS: There were 50 males and 50 females. Their overall mean age was 39.6 +/- 12.2 (S.D). The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori colonization was 79%. Males were 53.2% and females 46.8% respectively giving a sex ratio of 1.4:1. Gastritis, neutrophil activity, glandular atrophy and intestinal metaplasia were observed in 95%, 83%, 38% and 28% respectively. Gastric carcinoma was found in 3% ofthe patients. CONCLUSION: From our study, we conclude that the majority of our patients with dyspeptic symptoms have significant histopathological changes in their gastric mucosa with implications for the development of further gastric lesions, and that the most common cause of dyspepsia in our environment is Helicobacter pylori infection.