Abstract
A 75-year-old woman with diabetes mellitus presented with epigastralgia. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed multiple erosions on the greater curvature of the corpus and gastric atrophy. Histological examination and culture of a biopsy specimen from one of the erosions revealed Candida glabrata infection. The patient was treated with an H2 receptor antagonist (H2RA) and anti-mycosis agents, but as there was no symptomatic improvement, she was referred to our hospital. We discontinued the H2RA and administered anti-mycosis agents for one month, but this had no effect on the symptoms and endoscopic findings. A gastric secretion test revealed low acidity in the stomach. Furthermore, the patient was positive for serum immunoglobulin G antibody against Helicobacter pylori. Eradication therapy for H. pylori with amoxicillin, clarithromycin, and lansoprazole was therefore administered. One week after the eradication therapy, the symptoms ameliorated, and endoscopy showed that the erosions in the stomach had healed. In this case it is considered that clearance of the gastric candidiasis by H. pylori eradication was due to healing of the gastric mucosal damage, rather than recovery of intra-gastric acidity.
