COEXISTENCE OF HELICOBACTER-PYLORI INFECTION OF THE ORAL CAVITY AND GASTRIC AND DUODENAL MUCOSA IN PATIENTS WITH A PEPTIC-ULCER AND/OR CHRONIC GASTRITIS

In a group of 260 patients with a peptic ulcer of the stomach or the duodenum and/or chronic gastritis, bacteriological tests were conducted aiming at the detection of Helicobacter pylori in the mucosa of the stomach and the duodenum and in the gingival pockets. The presence of the infection of the mucosa of the stomach and/or of the duodenum was confirmed in 197 patients (75.8%). In this group of patients the bacteria occurred simultaneously in the oral cavity in 77 (39.1%) patients. It was found that the frequency of coexistence of Helicobacter pylori infection in the gingival pockets with an infected gastric or duodenal ulcer was not statistically significant. However, there was a statistically significant correlation between the frequency of Helicobacter pylori infection in the oral cavity (83.3%) and the simultaneous occurrence of extensive infection of the gastric mucosa.