H Pylori increases the risk of upper GI bleeds associated with low dose aspirin

Building upon our understanding  of the risks associated with H Pylori colonisation: Australian researchers have recently published a study in the Medical Journal of Australia that addressed the risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding amongst people taking low dose aspirin (≤ 325 mg/day) and with Helicobacter pylori infection. Seven case–control studies has data suitable for meta-analysis; four were deemed high quality on the Newcastle–Ottawa scale. Upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage was more frequent in aspirin users infected with H. pylori than in those who were not (odds ratio [OR], 2.32; 95% CI, 1.25–4.33; P = 0.008). Testing for and treating of the infection should be considered, especially if their underlying risk of peptic ulcer bleeding is already high.