Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2007 Feb 14;13(6):925-9.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v13.i6.925.

Validity and cost comparison of 14carbon urea breath test for diagnosis of H Pylori in dyspeptic patients

Shahid Rasool  1 , Shahab Abid, Wasim Jafri
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Validity and cost comparison of 14carbon urea breath test for diagnosis of H Pylori in dyspeptic patients

Shahid Rasool et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Aim: To validate and compare the cost of microdose 14C urea breath test (UBT) with histology and rapid urease test for the diagnosis of H Pylori.

Methods: Ninety-four consecutive patients with dyspeptic symptoms undergoing gastroscopy were enrolled. Gastric biopsies were taken for histology and rapid urease test. UBT was performed after gastroscopy by microdose 14C urea capsules. Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of UBT were calculated and compared with histology and rapid urease test. Cost comparison of these tests was also performed.

Results: H pylori was diagnosed by histology and rapid urease test in 66 (70%) and 61 (65%) patients, while 14C UBT detected infection in 63 (67%). Accuracy of UBT was 93% in comparison with histology while its positive and negative predictive values were 97% and 84%, respectively. Comparison of 14C UBT with rapid urease test gives an accuracy of 96%, with positive and negative predictive values of 95% and 97%, respectively. These results were highly reproducible with a Kappa test (P value<0.001). Cost of histology or rapid urease test with gastroscopy was 110 USD or 95 USD respectively while the cost of UBT was 15 USD.

Conclusion: Microdose 14C UBT was comparable to histology and rapid urease test. 14C UBT is an economical, self sufficient and suitable test to diagnose active H pylori infection in less developed countries.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Fennerty MB. Helicobacter pylori: why it still matters in 2005. Cleve Clin J Med. 2005;72 Suppl 2:S1–S7; discussion S14-S21. - PubMed
    1. Zhang C, Yamada N, Wu YL, Wen M, Matsuhisa T, Matsukura N. Helicobacter pylori infection, glandular atrophy and intestinal metaplasia in superficial gastritis, gastric erosion, erosive gastritis, gastric ulcer and early gastric cancer. World J Gastroenterol. 2005;11:791–796. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Schistosomes , liver flukes and Helicobacter pylori. IARC Working Group on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans. Lyon, 7-14 June 1994. IARC Monogr Eval Carcinog Risks Hum. 1994;61:1–241. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hamlet AK, Erlandsson KI, Olbe L, Svennerholm AM, Backman VE, Pettersson AB. A simple, rapid, and highly reliable capsule-based 14C urea breath test for diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection. Scand J Gastroenterol. 1995;30:1058–1063. - PubMed
    1. Bielański W, Konturek SJ, Dobrzańska MJ, Pytko-Polończyk J, Sito E, Marshall BJ. Microdose 14C-urea breath test in detection of Helicobacter pylori. J Physiol Pharmacol. 1996;47:91–100. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms