Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Observational study on a group of patients with macrocytosis without anaemia. The probable relationship of cause and effect between Helicobacter pylori and macrocytosis. METHODS AND MATERIAL: An observational and cross-sectional study. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: The measured variables were: personal data, medical and analytical history in relation to macrocytosis, alcohol and smoking habits and drug use. This information was taken from the medical history of the patient. RESULTS: The prevalence of macrocytosis without anaemia was 7.12%. The main cause found was hypothyroidism in 37/234 (15.8%) patients, followed by alcoholism in 34/234 (14.5%) patients. The most frequent association was alcohol and tobacco in 9/234 (3.8%) patients. It was not possible to find a cause of the increased mean corpuscular volume (MCV) in 87/234 (37.18%) patients. Out of 37 tests conducted for Helicobacter pylori, 23 of them were positive. DISCUSSION: Macrocytosis without anaemia has a high prevalence. Finding the most frequent causes could help in the early diagnosis and treatment. H. pylori currently appears to be associated to different digestive tract and non-digestive tract diseases.It could be a cause of increased MCV, but this study was unable demonstrate this.