Few reports exist on inflammation and interleukin (IL)-8 response in H. pylori-infected children. The aim of this study was to determine the intensity of inflammation, density of colonization and magnitude of IL-8 response in children with and without H. pylori infection. We studied 45 children with dyspeptic symptoms, 21 infected with H. pylori and 24 without infection. Antrum and corpus gastric biopsies were obtained and studied for H. pylori infection with an immunofluorescence technique and for IL-8 with an immunohistochemical assay. Biopsy specimens were stained with hematoxilin and eosin and gastritis was graded according to the Sydney system. The magnitudes of the IL-8 response and H. pylori colonization were estimated microscopically with image analyzer software. In H. pylori-infected children, mild mono-nuclear cell infiltration was found in 50%, and no neutrophils in 40% of cases. In the antrum but not in the corpus, the intensity of colonization correlated with neutrophil and mononuclear cell infiltration. The IL-8 response was significantly higher in the antrum (p