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Title: A 20-minute breath test for helicobacter pylori

Journal Article · · American Journal of Gastroenterology; (USA)
OSTI ID:5575531

In this study, we evaluated a simplified rapid {sup 14}C-urea breath test for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori. Fasting patients undergoing initial assessment for H. pylori drank 5 microCi of {sup 14}C-urea in 20 ml of water. Breath was collected at intervals for 30 min. Samples were counted in a beta-counter, and the results were expressed as counts per minute (cpm). In the same week, patients underwent endoscopy, and a blinded investigator examined biopsy samples of gastric mucosa by culture and histology for H. pylori. There were 49 H. pylori-negative (HP-) and 104 H. pylori-positive (HP+) patients in the study. HP+ patients expired a mean of 4398 cpm (SD 2468) per mmol CO{sub 2} in a sample taken 20 min after ingestion of the isotope. In contrast, HP--patients expired only 340 cpm (SD 196). If the mean +3 SD of HP- patients was used as a cutoff value, the 20-minute sample gave a sensitivity of 97% and a specificity of 100% for detecting H. pylori. The radiation exposure from this test is less than 1% of that received from an upper gastrointestinal series, and the short collection time makes it both convenient and cost effective.

OSTI ID:
5575531
Journal Information:
American Journal of Gastroenterology; (USA), Vol. 86:4; ISSN 0002-9270
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English