Frequency of Helicobacter Pylori Infection Among Children Presenting with Recurrent Abdominal Pain in Pediatrics Outpatient Department

Objective: To determine the frequency of Helicobacter pylori infection in paediatric patients presenting with recurrent abdominal pain. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Paediatrics, Pak-Emirates Military Hospital Rawalpindi, Pakistan Jan to Aug 2022. Methodology: The study sample was composed of 152 patients aged between 3 and 12 years, of either gender, reporting with recurrent abdominal pain. Patients with a past history of Helicobacter pylori infections, or those who had received antibiotics, H2 receptor antagonists or proton pump inhibitors within the past month were excluded. All patients underwent testing for infection using polymerase chain reaction assays using stool samples. Variables were compared to test positivity via PCR for H. pylori infection using the Chi square test and t-test, and a p-value of ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The mean age of the study sample was 7.32±2.62 years, of whom 86(56.6%) were female. A total of 63(41.4%) patients tested positive for H. pylori infection, while 32 (21.2%) were suffering from iron deficiency anaemia. Patients who tested positive for H. pylori infection had a higher chance of suffering from concurrent iron deficiency anaemia, (p=0.002). In addition, females generally presented at an older age with recurrent abdominal pain than males with the same condition, (p=0.016). Conclusion: Pakistani children with recurrent abdominal pain have a high chance of being infected with H. pylori, which should be screened for when managing such patients.