HISTOPATHOLOGICAL BASES OF ORGANIC DYSPEPSIA IN BENIN CITY – A HOSPITAL BASED STUDY OF 186 CASES

Abstract

Dyspepsia is a symptom complex characterized by features which include epigastric pain or discomfort, belching, bloating and heart burn amongst others, and is one of the commonest indications for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in Nigeria. The aim of this study was to determine the histopathological bases of organic dyspepsia in this environment. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy specimens from 186 patients diagnosed with organic dyspepsia in our centre over the 6-month study period were the materials for the study. These were subjected to tissue processing and histopathological examination. The vast majority of the cases of organic dyspepsia had their histopathological bases in the stomach, mostly from various forms of chronic and reactive gastritis, with occasional cases of gastric mucosal ulcers and frank malignancies. Helicobacter pylori-associated chronic gastritis continues to underlie most organic causes of dyspepsia in our environment.