title: Immunoblotting for the serodiagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection in Brazilian patients with and without gastric carcinoma.
abstract: We evaluated the performance of a commercial immunoblotting in the serodiagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection in Brazilian patients. The presence of anti-H. pylori antibodies was also investigated in a group of 20 duodenal ulcer patients after successful treatment. One hundred and ninety one patients were studied. Among the 164 infected patients, 46 had gastric carcinoma. The duodenal ulcer patients were treated with antimicrobial drugs and the eradication of the microorganism was confirmed in all of them one month after the end of the treatment by the 13C-urea breath test. Sera were assayed for H. pylori antibodies using the Helicoblot 2.0 (Genelabs Diagnostics, Singapore). The sensitivity, specificity, positive, and negative predictive values of the test were 93.9%, 92.6%, 98.7%, and 71.4%, respectively. The sensitivity of the test was similar in patients with (93.5%) and without (95.7%) gastric carcinoma. Twenty-four months after the end of the treatment, the band of 116 kDa was still detected in one of the patients. In conclusion, the Helicoblot 2.0 is an accurate test to diagnose H. pylori infection and although it can not be employed to monitor the bacterium eradication, it may be useful for diagnosing past infection, especially in gastric carcinoma patients.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Bacteriologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Av. Alfredo Balena, 190/4026, 30130-100 Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Andreia M C
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.forename: Gifone A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.forename: Janise L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Leite
authors.forename: Renato L L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Lisboa
authors.forename: Patrícia V O
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Dulciene M M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Queiroz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D004381:Duodenal Ulcer / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic