Helicobacter Pylori Infection in people with Learning Disabilities
My name is Clare Roberts. I am a Senior Learning Disability Nurse in East Hampshire.
I have an interest in Helicobacter Pylori Infection in people with Learning Disabilities and with the help of my Team, helped to get people tested when they showed certain physical changes. Not all these physical changes are listed in National Guidance but with the help of GPs, testing was agreed.
Following treatment for positive cases, we saw improvement to people’s lives and a checklist was set up to help alert to the need for testing.
I want to share this list nationally to help more Nurses be alerted to changes people can present with when they have this infection which is very easy to eradicate with antibiotics and a PPI (sometimes requiring a second treatment if symptoms persist and a retest shows the need for a second lot of treatment).
Here is the checklist below and you will also find a link to the article I wrote with Learning Disability Practice in October 22, the article gives more information about research in this field and the findings within our Team. Since the article was published, we continue to have positive cases and see positive changes following treatment.
What is Helicobacter Pylori?
H. Pylori is a type of bacteria which can enter your body and live in your digestive tract. It can cause sores, ulcers and more seriously can lead to stomach cancers. There are more cases of H. Pylori leading to illness in people with Learning Disabilities so it is important to be aware of it and test for it when signs are present as well as re-test if symptoms remain and a second course of treatment is needed. This can avoid incorrect treatments, expensive unnecessary hospital procedures and improve quality of life for individuals.
Look out for:
Belching
Poorly controlled reflux
Unexplained weight loss
Loss of appetite
Nausea
Bloating
Unexplained vomiting
Anaemia (low Iron)
Melena (dark faeces containing blood)
Irritable bowel symptoms (found to be associated with H. Pylori)
Constipation (not resolving)
Action:
If any of these symptoms are present and are not resolving request a stool sample test be arranged through the GP to test for H. Pylori antigen.
If the person takes a proton pump inhibitor for reflux such as Omeprazole this should be stopped for 2 weeks prior to testing to avoid a false positive result.
If the person has a positive result, they will be treated with antibiotic eradication therapy. If when this treatment ends, they still have symptoms not resolving, request a further stool sample test as it can take two lots of antibiotic eradication therapy to eradicate the H. Pylori infection from the gut.
Article Link