Helicobacter pylori testing and treatment: experience and reflections of a community learning disability team
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Helicobacter pylori testing and treatment: experience and reflections of a community learning disability team

Clare Roberts Community learning disability charge nurse, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, Fareham, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To enhance your knowledge of Helicobacter pylori infection and its potential adverse effects

  • To recognise the signs and symptoms of H. pylori infection which should prompt testing

  • To learn about a community learning disability team’s experience of H. pylori testing and treatment

Helicobacter pylori infection is much more prevalent in people with learning disabilities than in the general population. It can have negative effects on people’s health and well-being, including gastritis, gastric ulcers and gastric cancer. It is also likely to be a precipitating factor in aspiration pneumonia, which is the leading cause of death in the learning disability population. In recent years, a community learning disability team has supported the diagnosis and treatment of H. pylori infection in the people it cares for by identifying signs and symptoms and requesting testing from GPs. This article describes the prevalence, adverse effects, signs and symptoms, testing and treatment of H. pylori infection. It also discusses 14 patients from the team’s caseload and considers unresolved questions about testing and treatment.

Learning Disability Practice. doi: 10.7748/ldp.2022.e2193

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

Correspondence

clare.roberts@southernhealth.nhs.uk

Conflict of interest

None declared

Roberts C (2022) Helicobacter pylori testing and treatment: experience and reflections of a community learning disability team. Learning Disability Practice. doi: 10.7748/ldp.2022.e2193

Published online: 22 September 2022

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