A 15-minute [13C]-urea breath test for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia.
BACKGROUND
Non-ulcer dyspepsia (NUD) accounts for the majority of dyspeptic patients and studies on the epidemiology of Helicobacter pylori infection in NUD depend on a non-invasive and rapid diagnostic test. This study was performed to determine the sensitivity and specificity of a 15-min simplified protocol of the [13C]-urea breath test ([13C]-UBT) for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection in patients with NUD.


METHODS
One hundred and thirty-six patients with a clinical and endoscopic diagnosis of NUD were included. The [13C]-UBT was modified from the European standard protocol. The baseline breath sample was collected 5 min after the patient took a test meal and the 13CO2 was collected 15 min after the patient drank 100 mg [13C]-urea. The gold standard used for comparison was either a positive culture or positive histology + positive rapid urease test sampled on upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.


RESULTS
The prevalence of H. pylori infection in NUD by the gold standard was 59.6%, whereas that calculated by the [13C]-UBT was 60.3%. The sensitivity and specificity of [13C]-UBT was 93.8 and 89.1% compared with the gold standard. The shortened collection time and simplification of the procedure may have led to a decline in specificity.


CONCLUSIONS
The 15-min [13C]-UBT is a rapid but less specific protocol for detecting the presence of H. pylori infection in patients with NUD.
Peng
N J
NJ
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Veterans General Hospital-Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Hsu
P I
PI
Lee
S C
SC
Tseng
H H
HH
Huang
W K
WK
Tsay
D G
DG
Ger
L P
LP
Lo
G H
GH
Lin
C K
CK
Tsai
C C
CC
Lai
K H
KH
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001944:Breath Tests / Q000379:methods*; D002247:Carbon Isotopes / Q000032:analysis; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004415:Dyspepsia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D016145:Endoscopy, Digestive System; D005260:Female; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014508:Urea / Q000032:analysis*
D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D014508:Urea