Helicobacter pylori Diagnosis and Treatment in Africa: The First Lagos Consensus Statement of the African Helicobacter and Microbiota Study Group.

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is the most prevalent type of bacterial infection. Current guidelines from different regions of the world neglect specific African conditions and requirements. The African Helicobacter and Microbiota Study Group (AHMSG), founded in 2022, aimed to create an Africa-specific consensus report reflecting Africa-specific issues. SUMMARY: Eighteen experts from nine African countries and two European delegates supported by nine African collaborators from eight other countries prepared statements on the most important African issues in four working groups: (1) epidemiology, (2) diagnosis, (3) indications and prevention, and (4) treatment. Limited resources, restricted access to medical systems, and underdeveloped diagnostic facilities differ from those of other regions. The results of the individual working groups were presented for the final consensus voting, which included all board members. KEY MESSAGES: There is a need for further studies on H. pylori prevalence in Africa, with diagnosis hinged on specific African situation. Treatment of H. pylori in the African setting should be based on accessibility and reimbursement, while indication and prevention should be defined in specific African countries.

Helicobacter pylori Infection in Africa: Update of the Current Situation and Challenges.

BACKGROUND: The burden of Helicobacter pylori infection (HPI) in Africa remains high with varying levels of prevalence among children and adults reported in different regions of the continent. Persistent and uneradicated HPI could result in gastric cancer, although less severe pathological outcomes have been reported among Africans - the so-called "African enigma." SUMMARY: Analysis of endoscopic findings of the upper gastrointestinal tract demonstrates similarities with that of patients from the West. Thus, it could be asserted that the true picture of HPI in Africa is yet to be unveiled due to several challenges including inadequate health-care system, lack of treatment guidelines and standardized protocol for diagnosis, and lack of data. This review explores the prevalence, diagnosis, treatment, and health-care system in Africa as it relates to HPI, thus providing an update and highlighting the need for an African HPI guideline. KEY MESSAGES: There is high prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection (HPI) in Africa with an increasing burden of antibiotic resistance. Various methods including invasive and noninvasive methods are deployed in the diagnosis of HPI in Africa. There is a need for consensus on diagnosis and treatment of HPI in Africa.

Management of overt upper gastrointestinal bleeding in a low resource setting: a real world report from Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) remains a common medical problem worldwide that has significant associated morbidity, mortality, and health care resource use. This study outlines the aetiology, clinical presentation, and treatment outcomes of patients with UGIB in a Nigerian low resource health facility. METHODS: This was a descriptive study of consecutive patients who underwent upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy for upper GI bleeding in the endoscopy unit of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria from January 2007 to December 2013. RESULTS: During the study period, 287 (12.4%) of 2,320 patients who underwent upper GI endoscopies had UGIB. Of these, 206 (72.0%) patients were males and their ages ranged from 3 to 100 years with a median age of 49 years. The main clinical presentation included passage of melaena stool in 268 (93.4%) of individuals, 173 (60.3%) had haematemesis, 110 (38.3%) had haematochezia, and 161 (56.1%) were dizzy at presentation. Observed in 88 (30.6%) of UGIB patients, duodenal ulcer was the most common cause, followed by varices [52 (18.1%)] and gastritis [51 (17.1%)]. For variceal bleeding, 15 (28.8%) and 21 (40.4%) of patients had injection sclerotherapy and variceal band ligation, respectively. The overall rebleeding rate for endoscopic therapy for varices was 16.7%. For patients with ulcers, only 42 of 55 who had Forrest grade Ia to IIb ulcers were offered endoscopic therapy. Endoscopic therapy was áin 90.5% of the cases. No rebleeding followed endoscopic therapy for the ulcers. The obtained Rockall scores ranged from 2 to 10 and the median was 5.0. Of all patients, 92.7% had medium or high risk scores. An increase in Rockall score was significantly associated with length of hospital stay and mortality (p < 0.001). The overall mortality rate was 5.9% (17 patients). CONCLUSION: Endoscopic therapy for UGIB in a resource-poor setting such as Nigeria is feasible, significantly reduces morbidity and mortality, and is cost effective. Efforts should be made to improve the accessibility of these therapeutic procedure for patients with UGIB in Nigeria.

One week of esomeprazole triple therapy vs 1 week of omeprazole triple therapy plus 3 weeks of omeprazole for duodenal ulcer healding in Helicobacter pylori-positive patients.

In this randomized, double-blind, multicenter study, H. pylori-positive patients with an active duodenal ulcer (DU) received esomeprazole, 20 mg twice daily (bid), or omeprazole, 20 mg bid, with amoxicillin, 1000 mg bid, and clarithromycin, 500 mg bid, for 1 week (EAC and OAC, respectively). Patients received an additional 3 weeks of either placebo or omeprazole, 20 mg once daily (od), in the EAC and OAC groups, respectively. The intent-to-treat population included 374 patients (EAC, 186; OAC, 188). Four-week DU healing rates were similar in the EAC+placebo and OAC+omeprazole groups: 74% and 76%, respectively. DU healing rates at 8 weeks were 87% for EAC+placebo and 88% for OAC+omeprazole. H. pylori eradication rates were 75% and 79% for EAC and OAC, respectively. Both regimens were well tolerated. A 1-week regimen of esomeprazole-based H. pylori eradication triple therapy was as effective for DU healing and eradication of H. pylori as omeprazole-based triple therapy followed by an additional 3 weeks of monotherapy.

Severe gastrointestinal haemorrhage due to primary intestinal kaposi's sarcoma - a case report.

Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS) was previously a relatively rare disease. With the advent of HIV/AIDS pandemic however, AIDS-related KS has been on the increase and so has interest in the disease. Ninety percent of patients with KS present with skin lesions. While the gastrointestinal tract is a fairly common site of metastatic KS, primary gastrointestinal KS is uncommon. The presentation of gastrointestinal KS with severe gastrointestinal bleeding is rarer still. In this report, we present a 56-year-old HIV-negative patient who presented with severe gastrointestinal bleeding without any skin lesions. Multiple hemorrhagic polypoidal lesions were found on the walls of the jejunum and ileum as well as the liver at exploratory laparotomy and these were found to be KS on histopathologic examination. We also discuss the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges we had with this rare cause of severe GI bleeding.

Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori vacA, cagA and iceA genotypes in Nigerian patients with duodenal ulcer disease.

Distinct virulence factors of Helicobacter pylori have been associated with clinical outcome of the infection; however, considerable variations have been reported from different geographic regions. Data on genotypes of African H. pylori isolates are sparse. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of specific genotypes of H. pylori in Nigerian patients with duodenal ulcer and non-ulcer dyspepsia. H. pylori was cultured from endoscopic biopsies obtained from 41 Nigerian patients (19 with duodenal ulcer, 22 with non-ulcer dyspepsia). The vacA alleles, cagA and iceA genotypes were determined by PCR. The vacA s1,m1 and s1,m2 genotypes were found in 26.3% and 22.7%, and in 73.7% and 72.7% of H. pylori isolates from patients with duodenal ulcer and non-ulcer dyspepsia, respectively. The iceA1 genotype was present in 94.7% and 86.4% of isolates from duodenal ulcer and non-ulcer dyspepsia patients, respectively. cagA+ infection was found predominantly (> 90%) in Nigerian H. pylori isolates irrespective of the clinical diagnosis. In conclusion, vacA s1,m2, iceA1 and cagA+ are common genotypes of H. pylori isolated from Nigerian patients. As in several other developing countries there seems to be no association between these genotypes and duodenal ulcer disease.