Clinical Profile and Spectrum of Endoscopic Gastritis Among Patients with Dyspepsia in a Tertiary Health Institution

Abstract

Introduction: Dyspepsia is a major gastrointestinal symptom that often requires Endoscopic evaluation. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the clinical profile and pattern of endoscopic gastritis among patients with dyspepsia.

Method: The study was conducted in Kano, Nigeria, from April 2021 to October 2021. It is a hospital-based cross-sectional descriptive study in which 200 patients with dyspepsia were consecutively enrolled and underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy after thorough counselling. Frequencies and percentages were used to describe categorical variables while mean, standard deviation and median were used for continuous variables. Data were presented in tables and charts. Data was analyzed using SPSS 20.

Result: A total of 454 Endoscopy procedures were done during the study period, and only 200 patients (90 males, and 110 females with male to female ratio of 1:1.2) met the inclusion criteria. Most of the study participants 160 (80%) were aged 50 years and below. The Females accounted for 110 (55%) while 90 (45%) were males. Most of the study participants 159 (79.5%) had formal education with 51.5% having attained a tertiary level of education. The predominant symptom of dyspepsia reported by study participants was epigastric pain 171 (85.5%). The prevalence of endoscopic gastritis was 63.5% with the most common type being endoscopic erythematous/exudative gastritis.

Conclusion: In this study, the prevalence of endoscopic gastritis among dyspeptic patients was 63.5%, with pangastritis being the most common form. Gastritis was clinically indistinguishable from non-gastritis dyspepsia and was not influenced by any sociodemographic factors. This highlights the critical role of endoscopy as an essential investigative tool in evaluating these patients