Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection among β-thalassemia major children with recurrent abdominal pain at Suez Canal University Hospital

Background Recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) is a common pediatric problem and it is also one the several gastrointestinal tract disturbances frequently seen in β-thalassemia major (β-TM) patients. Helicobacter pylori is known to be an etiological agent of chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer diseases, but its correlation with RAP is still under debate. Aim The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of H. pylori infection among β-TM children with RAP. Patients and methods This study was cross-sectional in design. We recruited 48 b-TM cases (24 β-TM children who presented with RAP and 24 β-TM children who did not present with RAP), aged 5–18 years, and 48 age-matched and sex-matched controls (24 children who presented with RAP without any other apparent manifestations of disease and 24 healthy children who did not present with RAP). Children who presented with RAP fulfilled Apley’s criteria for the diagnosis of RAP. All patients and controls had undergone serum H. pylori IgG evaluation by ELISA. Results The seroprevalence of H. pylori in b-TM patients who presented with RAP was more common than in controls who presented with RAP [14/24 (58.3%) vs. 7/24 (29.2%); P = 0.04]. Also, there was a statistically significantly higher seroprevalence of H. pylori among the total number of β-TM children than among the total number of control children [24/48 (50%) vs. 12/48 (25%)]. The mean duration of splenectomy was statistically significantly higher in total β-TM children who were H. pylori IgG positive than among total β-TM children who were H. pylori IgG negative. There was no significant difference between total H. pylori IgG-positive β-TM children and age, sex, duration of blood transfusion, duration of iron chelating agent, criteria of abdominal pain, and serum ferritin level. Conclusion There was a higher prevalence of H. pylori IgG in β-TM children with RAP than among control children with RAP, as well as among total β-TM children than among total control children. H. pylori IgG was detected more frequently in thalassemic patients with a longer duration of splenectomy.