Abstract
An endoscopic study of 34 patients with rheumatic diseases taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) was undertaken to evaluate whether dyspepsia was associated with Campylobacter pyloridis. Twenty-two patients had an indication for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and 12 patients were asymptomatic volunteers. Dyspepsia did not correlate with the macroscopic findings at endoscopy, the presence of histological gastritis or the presence of C. pyloridis. However, this study did demonstrate that macroscopic mucosal changes, histological gastritis and the presence of C. pyloridis have an equal prevalence in asymptomatic volunteers and symptomatic patients.