Assessment of chronic gastritis in pet dogs and its relation with helicobacter-like organisms.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of chronic gastritis in pet dogs, to determine the histopathologic changes of gastric mucosa and, to determine its relationship with canine gastric Helicobacter infection. Sixty percent (n = 18), 27% (n = 8) and 13% (n = 4) of the examined stomachs showed normal, congested and erosive gastric mucosa respectively. Histopathologic examination was confirmed the presence of chronic gastritis in 40% of dogs (n = 12). Lymphocytic-plasmacytic gastritis was the most common type of chronic gastritis. Gastric Helicobacter was detected in cytological examination of 26 out of 30 dogs (86.6%) but in the PCR analysis, 93% of gastric samples were positive for GHLO. There was no significant relation between the presence of Helicobacters and chronic gastritis (p>0.05). Follicular gastritis was detected in 12 cases (40%) and there was also no significant correlation between its presence and GHLO's infection (p>0.05). In conclusion, chronic gastritis can be considered as a prevalent disease especially in dogs. Nutritional and environmental factors as well as individual immune response may have role in induction of chronic gastritis, but the clinical significance of these histopathologic changes should be evaluated.