title: Evaluation of a new fluorescence quantitative PCR test for diagnosing Helicobacter pylori infection in children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Numerous diagnostic tests are available to detect Helicobactor pylori (H. pylori). There has been no single test available to detect H. pylori infection reliably. We evaluated the accuracy of a new fluorescence quantitative PCR (fqPCR) for H. pylori detection in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Gastric biopsy specimens from 138 children with gastritis were sent for routine histology exam, rapid urease test (RUT) and fqPCR. 13C-urea breath test (13C-UBT) was carried out prior to endoscopic procedure. Gastric fluids and dental plaques were also collected for fqPCR analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  38 children (27.5%) were considered positive for H. pylori infection by gold standard (concordant positive results on 2 or more tests). The remaining 100 children (72.5%) were considered negative for H. pylori. Gastric mucosa fqPCR not only detected all 38 H. pylori positive patients but also detected 8 (8%) of the 100 gold standard-negative children or 11 (10.7%) of the 103 routine histology-negative samples. Therefore, gastric mucosa fqPCR identified 46 children (33.3%) with H. pylori infection, significantly higher than gold standard or routine histology (P<0.01). Both gastric fluid and dental plaque fqPCR only detected 32 (23.2%) and 30 (21.7%) children with H. pylori infection respectively and was significantly less sensitive than mucosa fqPCR (P<0.05) but was as sensitive as non-invasive UBT.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Gastric mucosa fqPCR was more sensitive than routine histology, RUT, 13C-UBT alone or in combination to detect H. pylori infection in children with chronic gastritis. Either gastric fluid or dental plaque PCR is as reliable as 13C-UBT for H. pylori detection.
authors: Department of Gastroenterology, Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou Medical College, 9 Jinsui Road, Guangzhou, 510623, China.
authors: Zhiying
authors: Z
authors: Ou
authors: Liya
authors: L
authors: Xiong
authors: Ding-You
authors: DY
authors: Li
authors: Lanlan
authors: L
authors: Geng
authors: Lixia
authors: L
authors: Li
authors: Peiyu
authors: P
authors: Chen
authors: Min
authors: M
authors: Yang
authors: Yongmei
authors: Y
authors: Zeng
authors: Zhenwen
authors: Z
authors: Zhou
authors: Huimin
authors: H
authors: Xia
authors: Sitang
authors: S
authors: Gong
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001706:Biopsy; D001944:Breath Tests; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005453:Fluorescence; D005750:Gastric Juice / Q000378:metabolism; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D005756:Gastritis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013270:Stomach / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D014510:Urease / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014510:Urease