What is verrucous gastritis?

       Verrucous gastritis, also known as pockmarked gastritis or chronic erosive gastritis, is a specific type of chronic gastritis. It is characterized by recurrent or persistent gastric multiple erosions of unknown origin.  The erosions are characteristically wart-like, mostly distributed within the pyloric gland area and the migratory zone, with a few visible throughout the stomach. The lesions are round or oval in shape, mostly less than 10 mm in diameter and about 2 mm in height, but also in strips, most of which are elevated with a central trapped erosion, light red or covered with a yellow film.  In typical cases of homogeneous warty lesions seen on gastroscopy, the diagnosis is usually not difficult, but if a single or two irregularly elevated lesions are encountered, they must be differentiated from type II early gastric cancer, polyps, and pseudolymphoma.  In addition, superficial sinus gastritis can also present with erosions, usually flat, but also with elevated erosions, which can be difficult to differentiate from this disease. However, in general superficial sinusitis often has bile reflux, H. pylori infection, or has taken nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs, and the number of vesicular foci is small and usually resolves in a few days, weeks to 3 months.  The diagnosis of verrucous gastritis relies on endoscopy. The disease is not related to the currently known causes of chronic gastritis, and earlier studies have attributed it to an allergic mechanism. The natural course of the disease is long and varies from individual to individual, with some regressing in a few months and others lasting for years, with no effective treatment options, and if clinical symptoms are present, it can be treated as a peptic ulcer.