SERUM IRON LEVEL

PATIENTS WITH HELICOBACTER PYLORI INFECTION

Abstract

…Objective: To determine the serum iron level in Helicobacter pylori infected
patients. Patients and methods: This cross sectional descriptive study was conducted at
Liaquat University Hospital (a tertiary care teaching hospital) Hyderabad from July 2013 to
December 2013. All the patients with history of presented with acute abdominal pain, dyspepsia,
bloating and epigastric discomfort were evaluated for Helicobacter pylori infection by serology.
Thereafter the Helicobacter pylori positive individuals were further evaluated for serum iron
level. The data was collected, saved and analyzed in SPSS version 11.00. Result: During six
month study period total one hundred patients of H. pylori infection was recruited, of which
sixty three (63%) were males and thirty seven were females. Sixty six (66%) patients belonged
to urban areas while thirty four (34%) were rural population. The mean age ±SD for overall
population was 37.35±14.0 where as the mean age ±SD of male and female population was
38.88±6.77 and 35.67±8.87 respectively. The serum iron was low in 68% Helicobacter pylori
infected patients, of which 48 were males and 20 were females (p=0.02). The overall mean
±SD for serum iron level in study population was 49.17±37.86 mmol/L whereas the mean ±SD
of serum iron for male and female Helicobacter pylori infected population was 42.69±34.15
and 60.18± 41.66 (p=0.03). Conclusions: An association was identified between Helicobacter
pylori and iron deficiency