Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Turkish Journal of Gastroenterology, cilt.10, sa.1, ss.24-26, 1999 (SCI-Expanded)
Chronic abdominal pain in children is defined as three or more pain episodes in a period of at least three months. It is one of the most common complaints among children and in the majority of cases, the cause of pain is functional. Recently it has been suggested that Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) plays a role in causing recurrent abdominal pain in children. In this study, the role of H. pylori in recurrent abdominal pain in children was evaluated after excluding other organic causes. The study group consisted of 45 girls and 44 boys aged between 4 and 16 years (mean 10.5±3.1). The control group consisted of 28 children (aged between 5-16 years, mean 11.0±3.0) in whom endoscopy was performed for reasons other than abdominal pain. H. pylori was positive in 67.4% of children with chronic abdominal pain, and 53.6% of the control group. No difference was found between the two groups (p>0.05). Patients with chronic abdominal pain and H. pylori infection were re-evaluated one month after completion of therapy. No statistical difference was found between H. pylori eradication rate and abdominal pain. These results suggest that H. pylori infection does not play a role in the etiology of recurrent abdominal pain in children.