Clinical manifestations of Helicobacter pylori in babies

Helicobacter pylori is a chronic source of infection in the stomach, which can easily induce chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer in children. The degree of clinical manifestations varies. Children have abdominal pain, bloating, loss of appetite, fatigue, dizziness, and vomiting. It also affects a wide range of the body. In severe cases, death may even occur. The disease can easily induce serious complications and is difficult to treat.

1. Clinical manifestations

Hp is a chronic source of infection. After entering the body, it mainly settles in the gastric mucosa, causing a series of pathological changes and leading to different clinical consequences. Common Hp-related diseases in children are mainly chronic active gastritis, duodenal ulcer and gastric ulcer, rare are gastric MALT lymphoma and rare gastric adenocarcinoma. Therefore, the clinical manifestations after infection with Hp are also the symptoms of these diseases, such as upper abdominal pain, fullness, early satiety, anorexia or upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

1. Children with chronic gastritis: have varying degrees of indigestion symptoms with varying severity of clinical manifestations and a prolonged course of the disease. The main symptom is recurrent abdominal pain with no obvious regularity that usually worsens after eating. The exact location of pain is usually around the navel. Young children may only experience restlessness and changes in normal eating behavior when experiencing abdominal pain, while older children may experience symptoms similar to those of adults, often complaining of upper abdominal pain followed by belching, early satiety, nausea, upper abdominal discomfort, and acid reflux. Eating hard, cold, spicy food or catching a cold or when the temperature drops may trigger or aggravate the symptoms. Some children may have loss of appetite, fatigue, weight loss and dizziness, and those with gastric erosion may have black stools. The physical signs are mostly not obvious, and the tenderness may be located in the upper and middle abdomen or around the navel, covering a wide range.

2. Peptic ulcer in children: The clinical manifestations are varied, and the symptoms vary greatly at different ages.

(1) Neonatal period: The main features are sudden upper gastrointestinal bleeding or perforation, which often presents acutely, with symptoms such as vomiting blood, bloody stools, abdominal distension, and peritonitis, which are easily misdiagnosed. Most cases in this period are acute stress ulcers, with a high mortality rate. The disease most often occurs within 24 to 48 hours after birth.

(2) Infancy: Children in this period often have an acute onset of illness, irritability, poor appetite, sudden vomiting of blood, and black stools. In the early stages, they may also have loss of appetite, repeated vomiting and abdominal pain, and slow growth and development.

(3) Preschool period: During this period, abdominal pain symptoms are obvious, mostly located around the navel and occurring intermittently. The relationship with diet is unclear. Nausea, vomiting, acid reflux, anemia, and upper gastrointestinal bleeding are also common.

(4) School age: As age increases, clinical manifestations become similar to those of adults, with symptoms mainly including upper abdominal pain and periumbilical pain, sometimes with night pain, or acid reflux, belching, or chronic anemia. A few people present with painless black stools, fainting, or even shock.

Some seriously ill children are prone to bleeding, perforation, and even gastrointestinal bleeding and gastric cancer if they do not pay attention to treatment. Parents must be aware of their children's conditions and prescribe the right medicine. Children often show signs of weight loss. Pay attention to seek medical attention in time to improve the serious gastrointestinal diseases caused by Helicobacter pylori in children that seriously affect their bodies.