Serum pepsinogens as an early diagnostic marker of H. pylori eradication.
OBJECTIVE
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication increases the serum pepsinogen I/ pepsinogen II ratio and the percentage change in pepsinogen I/pepsinogen II ratios is a useful marker of H. pylori eradication. We studied whether the pepsinogen method could be an early diagnostic marker of H. pylori eradication even in patients persistently treated with a proton pump inhibitor.


METHODS
Sixty-two H. pylori-positive patients underwent H. pylori-eradication therapy, followed by treatment with a proton pump inhibitor to cure ulcers. Serum levels of pepsinogen I and pepsinogen II were measured before, at the end of, and at 4 weeks after the eradication therapy. The cut-off values of percentage changes in pepsinogen I/pepsinogen II ratios for the diagnosis of eradication of H. pylori were set in proportion to pepsinogen I/pepsinogen II ratios before eradication in accordance with a previous report.


RESULTS
Using the results of 13C-urea breath test as the standard, the sensitivity, specificity and validity of the pepsinogen method were 100.0%, 89.8% and 90.3%, respectively, at 4 weeks after eradication therapy.


CONCLUSIONS
The percentage change in serum pepsinogen I/pepsinogen II ratios is useful as an early diagnostic marker for judgment of H. pylori eradication irrespective of proton pump inhibitor treatment.
Shirai
Naohito
N
Department Laboratory Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatus, Japan. naohito@hama-med.ac.jp
Furuta
Takahisa
T
Sugimoto
Mitsushige
M
Kanaoka
Shigeru
S
Watanabe
Fumitoshi
F
Takashima
Misako
M
Yamada
Masami
M
Futami
Hajime
H
Sato
Yoshihiko
Y
Kubota
Hiroyuki
H
Kodaira
Makoto
M
Kajimura
Masayoshi
M
Maekawa
Masato
M
Hishida
Akira
A
D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D016480:Helicobacter pylori; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010435:Pepsinogens / Q000097:blood*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D054328:Proton Pump Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use
D010435:Pepsinogens; D054328:Proton Pump Inhibitors