THE PREVALENCE OF GASTRIC POLYPS INCIDENTALLY DISCOVERED DURING ENDOSCOPY

Aims:

Gastric polyps are preneoplastic lesions, often asymptomatic, discovered incidentally during endoscopic examinations. Recent epidemiological studies show a low prevalence of gastric polyps in population, but with an increasing frequency of fundic gland polyps probably due to the long-term use of proton pump inhibitors. The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence and histopathological type of gastric polyps found at endoscopy in daily practice.

Methods:

The reports of endoscopic examinations performed in an outpatient clinic for 24 months were retrospectively analyzed. The study group included patients aged over 40 years, who performed upper gastrointestinal endoscopy for dyspeptic symptoms, without alarm signs. Demographic data, location and size of polyps and histopathological result of biopsies or endoscopic polypectomy were obtained.

Results:

A number of 920 patients were included in the study, mean age 57 ± 13 years. The prevalence of gastric polyps was 4.3% (40/920) and were more frequently detected in women (70%). Most of the polyps were hyperplastic type (57.5%, 23/40) located on the gastric corpus and antrum, 35% (14/40) was fundic gland polyps, and the remaining adenomatous polyps (3/40). All of fundic glands polyps had sizes less than 10 mm and only 30% of hyperplastic polyps were more than 10 mm size.

Conclusions:

Unlike most of the recent studies in Eastern Europe and Asia countries, our study showed a higher prevalence of hyperplastic polyps, this most likely due to the high prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in the population of our country.