Deformity of duodenal bulb, gastric metaplasia of duodenal regenerating mucosa and recurrence of duodenal ulcer: A correlated study

Aim: To investigate the correlation among the presence and degree of gastric metaplasia of duodenal regenerating mucosa, the deformity of bulb and the recurrence of duodenal ulcer. Methods: A total of 99 patients with duodenal ulcer were treated with H₂-antagonist with or without antimicrobial therapy. All patients received follow-up endoscopic examinations 6 wk after treatment. When the ulcer(s) were noted to be healed, two biopsies were taken from the ulcer scar for histological study of gastric metaplasia, and 4 biopsies were taken from antrum for Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) study. Out of these cases, 44 received further follow-up endoscopic examinations after 3, 6 and 12 mo respectively for studying the recurrence rate of duodenal ulcers. The correlation among ulcer recurrence, degree of gastric metaplasia of regenerating mucosa, bulbar deformity, and colonization of H pylori in the stomach was then studied. Results: The results showed that there was a strong correlation between the deformity of duodenal bulb and the degree of gastric metaplasia of regenerating duodenal mucosa. The recurrence rate of duodenal ulcer had a significant difference between patients with and without H pylori colonization in the stomach (P