Changes and Role of Serum Gastrin in Early Diagnosis of Abdominal Type of Henoch-Schönlein Purpura Children

Early and accurate diagnosis of Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP) is important when abdominal symptoms precede the onset of characteristic palpable purpura. This study was to investigate serum gastrin-17 changes in HSP with gastrointestinal symptoms to determine if gastrin-17 was helpful to the early diagnosis of HSP. The results showed serum gastrin-17 in HSP patients with abdominal symptoms was obviously decreased, which was significantly negative correlated with the abdominal score. HSP patients in boys had lower gastrin-17 level than girls, especially the boys with late purpura. Gastrin-17 may provide a clue to the early diagnosis of HSP presenting predominantly with abdominal symptoms.