Occurrence and Progression of Gastritis in Patients Operated on for Peptic Ulcer

Abstract

A group of 31 patients, operated on for gastric or duodenal ulcer, had sequential gastric biopsies. Before the operation 47% of the duodenal ulcer patients and 71.4% of the gastric ulcer patients had different forms of gastritis. A year after the operation 72.5% of the duodenal ulcer patients and all patients with gastric ulcer had gastritis. The gastritis process had progressed in 67.7% of the whole group. Maximal acid output after HistalogR stimulation was, on an average, 24.1 mEq/h before operation and 7.7 mEq/h, on an average, 9 months after operation. The occurrence of gastritis was correlated both pre- and postoperatively with low maximal acid output values. The slowest progression of gastritis was seen in duodenal ulcer patients with vagotomy and pyloroplasty as the operative procedure. A significant proportion of the patients developed antibodies to parietal cells, but the low titres and transient occurrence indicated that antibody production was not the cause of the gastritic process.