Hindawi Publishing Corporation Gastroenterology Research and Practice Volume 2013, Article ID 856256, 4 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/856256 Research Article Gastric Intestinal Metaplasia in an Underserved Population in the USA: Prevalence, Epidemiologic and Clinical Features Tarek Almouradi, Tadd Hiatt, and Bashar Attar Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County, 1901 W. Harrison Street Admin. bldg #1439, Chicago, IL 60612, USA Correspondence should be addressed to Tarek Almouradi; tarekmuradi@hotmail.com Received 21 July 2013; Accepted 8 September 2013 Academic Editor: Vikram Kate Copyright © 2013 Tarek Almouradi et al. his is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Gastric intestinal metaplasia is an important stage in the development of gastric cancer. Limited data is available regarding the preva- lence of gastric intestinal metaplasia in the United States. We conducted a retrospective review of esophagogastroduodenoscopies performed in our endoscopy unit between the months of April and October 2010 to evaluate the prevalence and the epidemiologic and endoscopic features of gastric intestinal metaplasia in an underserved population in the United States. 1. Introduction Gastric cancer is a global health problem, the second leading cause of cancer related mortality worldwide, and is responsi- ble for about 740,000 yearly deaths [1]. In the United States alone, about 21,600 adults (13,230 men and 8,370 women) will be diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2013. In the same year, gastric cancer will be responsible for an estimated 10,990 deaths [2]. Of note, the incidence rate of gastric cancer in the United States difers by ethnicity, with the highest incidence in Hispanics (12 in 100,000) and African Americans (11 in 100,000) compared to 6 in 100,000 in Caucasians [3]. he pathogenesis of gastric adenocarcinoma, described by Dr. Pelayo Correa as the gastric precancerous cascade, involves a multistep progression from chronic gastritis to atrophy, intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia, and ultimately neo- plasia [4]. Despite the importance of gastric intestinal meta- plasia as a precancerous condition, limited data is available regarding its prevalence in the United States. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence, epidemiologic, and clinical features of gastric intestinal metaplasia in an underserved population in the United States. 2. Methods his was a retrospective review of esophagogastroduodeno- scopies performed in the Endoscopy Unit at John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County (a large public hospital in Chicago, IL, USA) between the months of April and October, 2010. Data including age, gender, indication for endoscopy, and endoscopic indings were retrieved from the computerized endoscopy reporting system (Olympus EndoWorks version 7.4.42.16). hen, we performed a retrospective chart review to obtain data regarding ethnicity, histological indings (when biopsies were performed), and Helicobacter pylori infection status (determined by histological examination of biopsies and/or rapid urease test). In patients who underwent mul- tiple esophagogastroduodenoscopies within the given time period, we only included results from the irst test. he Insti- tutional Review Board of our hospital approved the study. 3. Histology Biopsy specimens were placed in vials containing 10% bufered formalin solution. Parain sections were prepared and stained using standard Hematoxylin and Eosin stain- ing procedures. Our pathologists, who are experienced in detecting gastric histological abnormalities and determining the presence of gastric intestinal metaplasia, reviewed the pathology slides. he presence of active Helicobacter pylori infection was determined by a positive CLO test (rapid urease test by Kimberly-Clark) and/or detection of H. pylori organisms in Immunostained gastric biopsies.