Introduction: In Chile, Hp colonization starts during the first years of life; this associates with the apearance of gastric lessions.Objectives: to relate Hp detection with morphologic damage, with and without endoscopic lesions. Patients: 100 children (41 boys), mean age 11y(range: 2-17y) who underwent upper endoscopy for diagnosis Hp was demonstrated by CLO test and Giemsa stain; endoscopic findings and gastric and duodenal histology were also recorded. Results: 1) hp was detected in 69% of patients, with no differences by sex and greater frequency in older groups(x2=25.9, p=0.04); 2);tables 1 and 2 show the endoscopic findings according to Hp detection:

Table 1
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Table 2
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3) Hp was detected in 19(58%) of the 33 patients with normal gastric and duodenal endoscopic; table 3 shows their histology.Conclusions Hp detection is related to morphologic damage rather than endoscopic findings. A high proportion of children colonised by Hp show an endoscopically normal mucosa. In these patients Hp appears associated with damage only, duodenal damage may be a manifestation of environmental enteropathy.

Table 3
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