Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Drug Resistance, Bacterial , Helicobacter Infections/microbiology , Helicobacter pylori/drug effects , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Child , Child, Preschool , Clarithromycin/pharmacology , Female , Helicobacter Infections/epidemiology , Helicobacter pylori/isolation & purification , Humans , Male , Metronidazole/pharmacology , Middle Aged , Netherlands/epidemiology , Prevalence , Young AdultABSTRACT
AIM OF THE STUDY: To investigate the seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in young children from the general population in The Netherlands. METHODS: Determination of IgG antibodies against H. pylori, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique [cutoff 0.32 Absorption Index (AI)], in serum from 1258 children who were 2-4 years of age. The serum was obtained from a serum bank of 6127 children who attended the community child healthcare centers in the Dutch province of Zuid-Holland. RESULTS: In general, we found a seroprevalence of 1.2% of H. pylori infection, with a significant difference between the children with parents who were both Dutch (0.5%), and the children with at least one non-Dutch parent (2.6%) (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of H. pylori infection in young infants in the general population in The Netherlands is low. Children with at least one non-Dutch parent form a risk group, however, for H. pylori infection in The Netherlands.
Subject(s)
Helicobacter Infections/epidemiology , Helicobacter pylori , Antibodies, Bacterial/blood , Child, Preschool , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/methods , Humans , Immunoglobulin G/blood , Netherlands/epidemiology , Prevalence , Seroepidemiologic StudiesABSTRACT
In western countries, when a child presents with recurrent oral ulcers and colitis, the diagnosis of Crohn's disease is mostly made. In our patient, the diagnosis was Behçet's disease with gastrointestinal manifestations. Behçet's disease with gastrointestinal manifestations has a similar clinical presentation to Crohn's disease, but there is more organ involvement and the prognosis is more severe in the former. Because there is limited experience in the treatment of Behçet's disease in the paediatric population, successful and unsuccessful treatment modalities in both paediatric and adult populations should be reported.
