A Clinical Trial on Oral H. pylori Infection of Preschool Children.

GOALS: Over the past twenty years, the existence of oral Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori ) infection has been controversial and is still disputed. It proposes that living H. pylori do not exist in the oral cavity. However, the progressive loss of efficacy of standard eradication therapies has made the treatment of H. pylori more challenging than ever due to oral H. pylori infection. We conducted a study to explore the existence of oral H. pylori infection in preschool children.

PROCEDURES: A total of 178 children were recruited and evaluated using the saliva H. pylori antigen test (HPS) and the urea breath test (UBT C13 ) to diagnose oral and stomach H. pylori infections, respectively. The treatments of oral H. pylori infection included toothpaste only, and toothpaste combined with mouth washing morning and night daily for two months. Group A: Children live with parents who have a stomach disease history. Group B: Children live with parents who have no stomach disease history. Group C: Children with toothpaste treatment. Group D: Children with combined toothpaste and mouth rinse treatments. Group E: Control group with no treatments.

RESULTS: The positive rate of HPS and C13 were 76.4% and 15.73% in the 95% confidence interval (95% CI) range, respectively, among the 178 children. The positive rate of HPS was significantly higher ( p <0.001) with the parents who suffered from stomach H. pylori infections which had been diagnosed by C13 . After two-month treatments, Group D and Group E provided 26.87% and 26.44% (95% CI) range efficient rates of the oral H. pylori infection, respectively. The difference between the C, D, and E groups was significant ( p <0.001).

CONCLUSION: Oral H. pylori exists in the oral cavity of preschool children. The positive rate of HPS was higher with parents suffering from stomach disease, and treatment was effective in reducing oral infection.