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
. 2016 May;30(3):231-4.
doi: 10.1002/jcla.21841. Epub 2015 Jan 19.

Stability of (13) C-Urea Breath Test Samples Over Time in the Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori

Tsachi Tsadok Perets  1   2 , Einav Shporn  1 , Doron Boltin  3   2 , Ram Dickman  3   2 , Yaron Niv  3   2
Affiliations

Stability of (13) C-Urea Breath Test Samples Over Time in the Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori

Tsachi Tsadok Perets et al. J Clin Lab Anal. 2016 May.

Abstract

Background: The accuracy and repeatability of breath test in the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection have not been adequately investigated. Although it has been shown that storage for long periods does not affect the analysis results, no data are available on the effect of repetitive testing. In this study, our aim was to evaluate the repeatability of the analyses of breath samples at room temperature.

Methods: A total of 202 positive breath samples were collected in duplicates, before and after administration of 75 mg (13) C- urea dissolved in 100 ml of orange juice. Breath test results were expressed as delta (13) CO2 . The cut-off value was 3.5 parts per thousand. Each sample was analyzed in a mass spectrometer 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after collection. The accuracy calculation was based on the comparison of the delta (13) CO2 obtained in the three consecutive weeks following the first test run to the delta (13) CO2 obtained in the first test run.

Results: Two hundred (99%), 197 (97.52%), and 196 (97%) of the 202 samples tested positive in the second, third, and fourth test runs, respectively. The accuracy of the delta (13) CO2 was 98.6%, 99.2%, and 96.7% in the three consecutive runs, respectively.

Conclusion: Short-term storage of 1 month does not affect sample stability or the results of (13) C-urea breath tests in up to three consecutive repeats.

Keywords: 13C-urea breath test; H. pylori diagnosis; IRMS; reproducibility; test accuracy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Summary of accuracy values of three consecutive UBT runs over baseline. The delta 13CO2 of each of the positive and negative samples in the three consecutive test runs was compared to the delta 13CO2 of the first test run (baseline). The accuracy values represent the mean of the total accuracy values for each of the samples in the same test run.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Wroblewski LE, Peek RM, Wilson KT. Helicobacter pylori and gastric cancer: Factors that modulate disease risk. Clin Microbiol Rev 2010;23:713–739. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sibony M, Jones NL. Recent advances in Helicobacter pylori pathogenesis. Curr Opin Gastroenterol 2012;28:30–35. - PubMed
    1. Li C, Ha T, Ferguson DA Jr, et al. A newly developed PCR assay of H. pylori in gastric biopsy, saliva, and feces. Evidence of high prevalence of H. pylori in saliva supports oral transmission. Dig Dis Sci 1996;41:2142–2149. - PubMed
    1. Kabir S. Detection of Helicobacter pylori DNA in feces and saliva by polymerase chain reaction: A review. Helicobacter 2004;9:115–123 - PubMed
    1. Arboleda RN, Schneider BG, Bravo LE, et al. Use of the noninvasive entero‐test in the detection of Helicobacter pylori in children in an endemic area in Colombia. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 2013;57:192–196. - PMC - PubMed