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Is Helicobacter pylori infection a risk factor for disease severity in systemic sclerosis?

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Abstract

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is suspected to be one of the factors triggering systemic sclerosis (SSc). Data on the possible role of H. pylori are lacking. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of H. pylori infection in SSc patients. Forty-two SSc patients without dyspeptic symptoms were recruited—26 were H. pylori-positive and 16 were H. pylori-negative on the basis of invasive test. We evaluated the disease severity using clinical and laboratory parameters according to the Medsger Severity Scale. The level of SSc activity was evaluated according to Valentini activity score. The prevalence of H. pylori infection in population of SSc patients is 62 %. Severity of skin, gastrointestinal, and joint/tendon involvement was different between H. pylori-positive and -negative SSc patients (p < 0.001 for skin involvement, p = 0.002 and p = 0.03 for gastrointestinal and joint/tendon involvement, respectively) as well as erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p = 0.002). Severity score according to Medsger was higher in the H. pylori-positive than in the H. pylori-negative SSc patients (p < 0.001). Our data suggest that H. pylori infection correlates with severity of skin, gastrointestinal, and joint/tendon involvement in SSc patients. H. pylori-positive SSc patients showed higher severity score compared to H. pylori-negative. Therefore, H. pylori infection may play a role in the pathogenesis of SSc and also can provide some prognostic information.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immnulogy, University Hospital Split, Šižgorićeva 20/II, 21 000, Split, Croatia

    Mislav Radić & Dušanka Martinović Kaliterna

  2. Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Split, Split, Croatia

    Damir Bonacin

  3. Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Dubrava University Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia

    Jadranka Morović Vergles

  4. Department of Nephrology, University Hospital Split, Split, Croatia

    Josipa Radić & Vedran Kovačić

  5. Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Split, Split, Croatia

    Damir Fabijanić

Authors
  1. Mislav Radić
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  2. Dušanka Martinović Kaliterna
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  3. Damir Bonacin
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  4. Jadranka Morović Vergles
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  5. Josipa Radić
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  6. Damir Fabijanić
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  7. Vedran Kovačić
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Correspondence to Mislav Radić.

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Radić, M., Kaliterna, D.M., Bonacin, D. et al. Is Helicobacter pylori infection a risk factor for disease severity in systemic sclerosis?. Rheumatol Int 33, 2943–2948 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-012-2585-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-012-2585-z

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