Validation of the saliva-based H. pylori test, heliSAL, and its use in prevalence surveys.
The saliva-based H. pylori test, HeliSAL, is insufficiently accurate for use in the clinical setting. However, its ease of use and non-invasiveness make it attractive for population-based studies of the epidemiology of H. pylori. We validated HeliSAL, and comment here on its usefulness in prevalence surveys. One hundred and ninety-six patients receiving endoscopy at a clinic in New Zealand provided saliva samples for H. pylori assessment, which were compared to CLOtest (Delta West Pty Ltd, Western Australia) as a gold standard measure. Nineteen percent were truly H. pylori positive, 41% were positive according to HeliSAL. Test sensitivity was 74% and specificity was 67%. While HeliSAL is not well suited for the clinical diagnosis of H. pylori infection, it may be useful for large-scale prevalence surveys because, provided it is validated locally, mathematical adjustment can be made for misclassification. Being inexpensive, non-invasive, and easily stored and handled, HeliSAL may be a valuable tool for studies of the epidemiology of H. pylori.
Cockburn
M
M
Department of Preventive Medicine, USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, California 90033-9175, USA.
Collett
J
J
Cox
B
B
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009520:New Zealand; D015995:Prevalence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012463:Saliva / Q000382:microbiology*