Nodular antritis:: a specific aspect of Helicobacter pylori infection.

In the literature, the nodular aspect of gastric antritis is described as strongly suggesting a H. pylori infection in children. In our study 321 children aged from 2 to 15 years, were examined from January 1990 to March 1995, in order to verify this correlation. The endoscopic examination showed that 89 children of 183 infected by H. pylori (49% cases) had a normal digestive endoscopy. Seventy-three children showed a nodular antritis; 66 of them (90% cases) were H. pylori positive. Fourteen cases of duodenal ulcers were noticed; 11 among them (79% cases) were H. pylori positive. The histology showed that 183 children had a gastritis, of whom 167 were H. pylori positive (91% of antral gastritises). Gastritis was of follicular type in 84% of children showing a nodular antritis which is not constant in the Tunisian child (36% cases), but in 90% of cases it was associated to the presence of H. pylori, suggesting that it is a specific aspect of H. pylori infection in children. (C) 1999 Elsevier, Paris.