A study of clinical and endoscopic findings of dyspepsia patients.

Abstract

Background: Dyspepsia represents one of the most common gastrointestinal complaints encountered in clinical practice, affecting approximately 20-40% of the global population. Despite its prevalence, the relationship between dyspeptic symptoms and endoscopic findings remains incompletely understood, with significant regional variations reported in both clinical presentation and underlying pathology.This study aimed to evaluate the clinical and endoscopic findings in patients presenting with dyspepsia to better understand the disease profile in our setting. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 70 patients presenting with dyspeptic symptoms. Detailed clinical evaluation was performed, documenting demographic characteristics, symptom profiles, associated habits, and comorbidities. All patients underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with systematic assessment of the esophagus, stomach (fundus, body, antrum, and pylorus), and duodenum. Biopsies were taken for histopathological examination and Helicobacter pylori testing. Results: The majority of patients were young to middle-aged adults (51.4% aged 21-40 years) with a male predominance (58.6%). Early satiety was universal (100%), with high rates of epigastric pain (98.6%), postprandial fullness (98.6%), and epigastric burning (97.1%). Most patients (67.1%) had no significant habits, while tobacco chewing (20%) was the most common habit observed. Comorbidities were absent in 72.9% of patients. Endoscopic examination revealed abnormal findings in 98.6% of patients, with gastritis being the predominant finding (71.4% isolated, 9.9% in combination). Site-specific analysis showed varying patterns of inflammation across different gastric regions, with the antrum and body being most commonly affected. Notably, no cases of Helicobacter pylori infection were detected. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate a high prevalence of endoscopic abnormalities in dyspepsia patients, particularly gastritis, with predominant involvement of the antrum and body. The absence of Helicobacter pylori infection suggests alternative mechanisms for gastric inflammation in our population. The strong correlation between specific symptoms and endoscopic findings provides valuable insights into dyspepsia pathophysiology and has important implications for diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in our setting.