title: United Rapid Urease Test Is Superior than Separate Test in Detecting Helicobacter pylori at the Gastric Antrum and Body Specimens.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The rapid urease test (RUT) is an invasive method to diagnose Helicobacter pylori infection, which relies on the acquisition and examination of gastric antrum and body tissues. We determined and compared the efficacy of RUT when the tissues were examined separately or after being combined.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred and fourteen patients were included and underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy from July 2008 to June 2010. The separate test was defined as evaluating the status of infectivity of H. pylori from the antrum and body separately; whereas the united test was carried out putting both tissues from the antrum and body in the same RUT kit. All RUTs were read by a single observer 1, 3, 6, 12, and up to 24 hours later. We also got two biopsy specimens stained with hematoxylin and eosin and quantified H. pylori density was calculated on a scale of 0 to 3.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall positivity for H. pylori was 137 (64%) for the separate test and 148 (69.2%) for the united test (p<0.01). The mean time to a positive test was 3.58 hours for the separate test and 1.69 hours for the united test (p<0.01). The correlation between the time to positive RUT and the severity of histology showed r=+0.556 for the antrum (p<0.01) and r=+0.622 for the body (p<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Combining tissues prior to RUT enhances the detection of H. pylori, as compared with the examination of separate tissues, and shortens the time to develop a positive reaction by approximately 50%. These diagnostic advantages are also accompanied by increased cost-savings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Institute of Health Science, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine, Jinju, Korea.
authors.forename: Sung Won
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Sung Woon
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Tae Hyo
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hyeon Sik
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ji-Hyeon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Ju
authors.forename: Yeon Jeong
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Hyun Jeong
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Sang Goon
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Shim
authors.forename: Hyun Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Woon Tae
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Ok-Jae
authors.initials: OJ
authors.lastname: Lee