Aim. Chronic
gastritis was assessed serologically, endoscopically and histologically to identify correlations between these methods. Methods. Subjects comprised 319 patients who had provided informed consent. Serological assessment of chronic
gastritis was based on the
pepsinogen test method. Endoscopic
gastritis and histological
gastritis were assessed and scored according to the Kimura-Takemoto classification system and the updated Sydney classification system respectively, and correlations between these three methods were studied. Results.
Pepsinogen I/II ratio showed a significant correlation to the extent of mononuclear cell infiltration of the gastric corpus. When histological
gastritis was divided, on the basis of the distribution of mononuclear cell infiltration, into
gastritis limited to the antrum and corpus
gastritis, these types were distinguished with high accuracy using a
pepsinogen I/II ratio of 3 as the cutoff. A good correlation was also seen between
pepsinogen I/II ratio and development of
atrophy in endoscopic
gastritis, where groups with and without advanced
atrophy were also distinguished with high accuracy using a cutoff value of 3. Conclusion. Significant correlations exist between serum
pepsinogen levels, endoscopic
gastritis, and histological
gastritis.
Pepsinogen I/II ratio allows prediction of the existence of endoscopic
gastritis and histological
gastritis, or the extent of their development, with high accuracy.