Twenty-minute 50 mg 13C-urea breath test without test meal for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection in Chinese.
BACKGROUND
We have previously shown that the 75 mg 13C-urea breath test without citrate test meal is highly accurate for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection in Chinese subjects. A lower dose 50 mg 13C-urea breath test protocol with a sampling time at 20 min has not been validated previously.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the accuracy of a 20-min 50 mg 13C-urea breath test protocol in Chinese subjects.


METHODS
Consecutive dyspeptic patients referred for upper endoscopy were recruited. 13C-urea breath test was performed using (a) 75 mg and 50 mg of 13C-urea on two separate days without a test meal, and (b) 50 mg of 13C-urea with 2.4 g citrate as test meal, and compared with the gold standard [rapid urease test (CLO test) and histology]. Baseline, 20-min and 30-min breath samples were collected in all cases.


RESULTS
Two hundred and six patients were tested. The accuracy of the 50 mg 13C-urea breath test (no citrate) at 20 min and 30 min was 98%, comparable to that of the 50 mg 13C-urea breath test with citrate (99.1%) and the 75 mg 13C-urea breath test without citrate (100%).


CONCLUSIONS
A 20-min 50 mg 13C-urea breath test without citrate produced highly accurate results for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection and is more economical and convenient for the Chinese population.
Wong
W M
WM
Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong.
Wong
B C
BC
Li
T M
TM
Wong
K W
KW
Cheung
K L
KL
Fung
F M
FM
Xia
H H
HH
Lam
S K
SK
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001944:Breath Tests / Q000379:methods*; D002681:China; D004415:Dyspepsia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D016480:Helicobacter pylori; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013997:Time Factors; D014508:Urea / Q000737:chemistry*
D014508:Urea