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Histologic findings characteristic of gastritis in the absence of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection are often assumed to represent false-negative testing for the bacterium. Now, investigators have postulated that Hp-negative gastritis is a separate clinical entity.
In a retrospective review of demographic, clinical, and histopathologic data from a national gastrointestinal pathology database in the U.S. comprising 895,323 patients with gastric biopsies, researchers found the following:
The prevalence of Hp-positive gastritis was 10.6%, and the prevalence of Hp-negative gastritis was 1.5%.
Hp-negative gastritis was more common in men (odds ratio, 1.17).
The prevalence of Hp-positive gastritis was higher in regions of high Hp prevalence (≥12%) v…