title: Agreement rate of rapid urease test, conventional PCR, and scorpion real-time PCR in detecting helicobacter pylori from tonsillar samples of patients with chronic tonsillitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Helicobacter pylori is capable of inducing systemic inflammatory reactions through immunological processes. There are several methods to identify the presence of H. pylori in clinical samples including rapid urease test (RUT), conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the Scorpion real-time PCR.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the present study is to compare the agreement rate of these tests in identifying H. pylori in tonsillar biopsy specimens collected from patients with chronic tonsillitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 103 tonsil biopsy samples from patients with clinical signs of chronic tonsillitis were examined with RUT, PCR, and Scorpion real-time PCR. The degree of agreement between the three tests was later calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a poor degree of agreement between RUT and PCR and also RUT and Scorpion real-time PCR (Kappa=0.269 and 0.249, respectively). In contrast with RUT, there was a strong degree of agreement between PCR and Scorpion real-time PCR (Kappa=0.970).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The presence of a strong agreement between the Scorpion real-time PCR and PCR as well as its technical advantage over the conventional PCR assay, made the Scorpion real-time PCR an appropriate laboratory test to investigate the presence of H. pylori in tonsillar biopsy specimens in patients suffering from chronic tonsillitis.
authors: Cell and Molecular Research Center, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran.
authors: Reza
authors: R
authors: Najafipour
authors: Taghi Naserpour
authors: TN
authors: Farivar
authors: Ali Akbar
authors: AA
authors: Pahlevan
authors: Pouran
authors: P
authors: Johari
authors: Farshid
authors: F
authors: Safdarian
authors: Mina
authors: M
authors: Asefzadeh