Helicobacter pylori Stool Antigen test: a reliable non-invasive test for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection in children.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the Helicobacter pylori Stool Antigen (HpSA) test for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection in children.


METHODS
Prospective cohort study in an academic medical centre.


METHODS
A total of 106 consecutive children who underwent gastroscopy were included. Biopsy specimens were sampled from the gastric antrum and corpus for the assessment of H. pylori infection by culture and histology. A patient was defined to be H. pylori positive if the results of culture and/or histology proved to be H. pylori positive; a patient was defined to be negative if both test results were negative. All children provided a stool sample within 2 days of gastroscopy. H. pylori antigens in faeces were assessed by an enzyme immunoassay (Premier HpSA, Meridian Diagnostics, Inc., Cincinnati, OH, USA).


RESULTS
The mean age of included patients was 8.5 years (range 1-18.5). Thirty patients were H. pylori positive and 76 patients were H. pylori negative. Using the recommended cut-off values of 0.140 optical density (OD) and 0.159 OD, sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 92% were found. The positive and negative predicting values were 83% (30/36) and 100% (70/70), respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
The HpSA test is an accurate test for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection in children, and might therefore be a good alternative for diagnostic tests such as the 13C-urea breath test (UBT).
van Doorn
O J
OJ
Department of Paediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Emma Children's Hospital/AMC, Academic Medical Centre, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Bosman
D K
DK
van't Hoff
B W
BW
Taminiau
J A
JA
ten Kate
F J
FJ
van der Ende
A
A
D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology; D005773:Gastroscopy; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008297:Male; D011336:Probability; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D000942:Antigens, Bacterial