INFLAMMATORY DISORDERS ASSOCIATED WITH HELICOBACTER PYLORI IN THE ROUX-EN-Y BYPASS GASTRIC POUCH

ABSTRACT Background: The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori in obese candidates for bariatric surgery and its role in the emergence of inflammatory lesions after surgery has not been well established. Aim: To identify the incidence of inflammatory lesions in the stomach after bariatric surgery and to correlate it with H. pylori infection. Methods: This is a prospective study with 216 patients undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. These patients underwent histopathological endoscopy to detect H. pylori prior to surgery. Positive cases were treated with antibiotics and a proton inhibitor pump followed by endoscopic follow-up in the 6th and 12th month after surgery. Results: Most patients were female (68.1%), with grade III obesity (92.4%). Preoperative endoscopy revealed gastritis in 96.8%, with H. pylori infection in 40.7% (88/216). A biopsy was carried out in 151 patients, revealing H. pylori in 60/151, related to signs of inflammation in 90% (54/60). In the 6th and 12th month after surgery, the endoscopy and the histopathological exam showed a normal gastric pouch in 84% of patients and the incidence of H. pylori was 11% and 16%, respectively. The presence of inflammation was related to H. pylori infection (p