The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection among patients in a community hospital, Nakhon Ratchasima province

Abstract

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a gram-negative bacterium found in the human stomach, which can cause chronic gastritis and may even lead to cancer. Studies on the prevalence of H. pylori infection using upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and the rapid urease (CLO) test in community hospitals in Thailand are limited. Therefore, this retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of H. pylori infection among 400 cases undergoing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy at a community hospital in Nakhon Ratchasima Province. The data were collected from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2021. The results among the 400 participants showed that there were 212 males (53.00%), with a median age of 61 years (ranging from 17 to 95 years). Diagnosis using esophagogastroduodenoscopy indicated that most of them had gastritis (58.00%), followed by gastric ulcer (23.25%), and duodenal ulcer (11.00%). Moreover, 85 out of 363 were detected with H. pylori through the rapid urease test (CLO). Consequently, the prevalence of H. pylori infection in the hospital was 23.42%. The identified risk factors were those who used bolus or liquid Thai traditional medicine (OR = 3.22, p = 0.015) and those who had duodenal ulcers (OR = 2.15, p = 0.043). Thus, the study recommends early diagnosis, particularly for people who had duodenal ulcers and used bolus or liquid Thai traditional medicine. This approach may help minimize the severity of the infection and reduce the risk of important complications, such as cancer.