Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis before the initiation of antituberculosis treatment

SUMMARY Objectives: A high Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) seroprevalence has been found in many extragastrointestinal disorders. Moreover, it has been reported that the tuberculosis (TB) risk may be increased in patients with a history of peptic ulcer disease. The aim of this study was to assess the H. pylori seroprevalence in patients with newly diagnosed pulmonary TB, before the initiation of antituberculosis treatment. Methods: We evaluated all patients with newly diagnosed pulmonary TB presenting to our hospital during a 2-year period. We evaluated 80 patients with pulmonary TB and 70, age and sexnmatched, control subjects. All enrolled subjects (tuberculosis patients and controls) underwent an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) IgG serologic test for H. pylori diagnosis. Results: A correlation between age and H. pylori IgG level was detected for both TB patients (r=0.42, p=0.004) and controls (r=0.44, p=0.004). The H. pylori seropositivity in the TB group was significantly higher than that of controls (87.5% vs 61.4%, p=0.02). The mean serum concentration of IgG antibodies against H. pylori was also significantly higher in TB patients than in control subjects (39.0‐ 25.2 U/ml vs 26.1‐21.2 U/ml, p=0.001). Conclusions: H. pylori infection may be associated with pulmonary TB. Further studies should be undertaken to confirm our results and to clarify the potential underlying pathogenetic mechanisms.