Helicobacter pylori infection influences the acidity in the gastric tube as an esophageal substitute after esophagectomy.

It is commonly considered that acidity in a gastric tube used as an esophageal substitute after esophagectomy decreases due to truncal vagotomy. However, there have been few, if any, studies on the factors influencing the acidity in the gastric tube. It is well known that Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) plays an important role in acid secretion of the stomach. The aim of this study was to investigate whether or not H. pylori infection also influenced the acidity in the gastric tube as an esophageal substitute. We investigated the changes in the levels of gastric acidity and the status of H. pylori infection from the preoperative period to 1 year after surgery. In 65 Japanese patients who underwent resection of esophageal cancer followed by reconstruction using a gastric tube, 24-h gastric pH monitoring and examination of H. pylori infection using the 13C-urea breath test and biopsy specimen obtained from the gastric mucosa under upper gastrointestinal endoscopy were performed pre- and postoperatively. Twenty-seven among the 65 patients underwent the same examinations at 1 year after surgery. The levels of postoperative gastric acidity and at 1 year after surgery were significantly lower than that of preoperative gastric acidity (P = 0.031, P = 0.001, respectively). There was no difference in the levels of gastric acidity between 1.5 months and 1 year after surgery (P = 0.282). The levels of gastric acidity in the stomach and in the gastric tube were significantly influenced by H. pylori infection, while age, gender, and past history of peptic ulcer showed no influence. The level of gastric acidity in patients who had H. pylori infection pre- and postoperatively were significantly lower than that in patients who had no H. pylori infection pre- and postoperatively (P < 0.0001). H. pylori infection was indicated to be an important factor influencing the levels of gastric acidity in the reconstructed esophagus as well as in the stomach before surgery.