title: Evaluation of diagnostic methods for Helicobacter pylori gastritis.
abstract: The authors evaluated the use of direct Gram-stained smears, 1- and 24-hour urease broth tests, histologic examination, and culture to detect Helicobacter pylori in 100 gastric biopsy specimens from 97 patients with epigastric symptoms. Twenty-six patients had positive cultures and 27 had H. pylori identifiable in hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections. The gastric biopsy specimens from the 29 patients with culture and/or histologic findings positive for H. pylori showed active gastritis in 27 cases (93%), compared with 26 cases (37%) without H. pylori (P less than 0.0001). Chronic gastritis was present in 25 cases (86%) with H. pylori and 40 cases (56%) without H. pylori (P less than 0.01). Twenty patients had positive Gram-stained smears. Fifteen patients had positive 1-hour urease tests, and 3 had delayed positive 24-hour urease tests. There were no false-positive Gram's stain results, three false-positive 24-hour urease tests, two false-negative histologic results, and three false-negative cultures (one inadvertently incubated anaerobically). The sensitivities of the methods were as follows: 62% for the 24-hour urease test, 69% for direct Gram's stain, 90% for culture, and 93% for histologic examination. The authors conclude that the urease test used in this study has low sensitivity and limited specificity; that the direct Gram-stained smear is a useful, highly specific, rapid screening test; and that the lengthier methods of culture and histologic examination have comparably high sensitivity for the definitive diagnosis of H. pylori gastritis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, New England Deaconess Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02215.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nichols
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sughayer
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: DeGirolami
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Balogh
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pleskow
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Eichelberger
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Santos
mesh_terms: D001431:Bacteriological Techniques / Q000592:standards*; D001706:Biopsy; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005756:Gastritis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D013270:Stomach / Q000473:pathology