title: A screening trial of Helicobacter pylori-specific antigen tests in saliva to identify an oral infection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Helicobacter pylori infection places a heavy burden on medical and economic resources. Standard diagnosis requires the presence of established H. pylori gastric disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  A multicenter screening trial assessing 2 immunochromatographic H. pylori antigen oral tests was carried out with 201 participants. The analysis also included a urea breath test (UBT), a Campylobacter-like organism test, silver stain, culture, serology, and stool tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The participants were grouped into UBT positive (UBT+) and UBT negative (UBT-) people, using conventional methods with congruent clusters based on p values from McNemar's paired χ2 analysis and 95% CI estimates. Both oral tests were also positive in 82% of the seropositive UBT- people. However, oral antigen and seroprevalence divided UBT- people into 2 statistically separate CI subgroups: the UBT- symptomatic (highly positive) group and the UBT- asymptomatic (mostly negative) group. 90.5% of all people whose oral tests were both negative were also UBT-.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Saliva H. pylori antigen is an important indicator in UBT- asymptomatic patients. Currently, its clinical significance remains uncertain, but saliva may be a reservoir from where H. pylori is transmitted to the stomach. In symptomatic patients, it is strongly associated with stomach infection.
authors.affiliation: Research Division, Ameritek USA, Everett, Washington 98208, USA. kcyee@ameritek.org
authors.forename: Kuo Ching
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Yee
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Hsian Ching
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Yee
authors.forename: Karin D E
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Everett
authors.forename: Hsian Pei
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Yee
authors.forename: Noriko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hazeki-Talor
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001944:Breath Tests; D002648:Child; D002846:Chromatography, Affinity; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D005408:Flagellin / Q000032:analysis*; D005773:Gastroscopy; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D012463:Saliva / Q000382:microbiology*; D014508:Urea / Q000032:analysis; D014510:Urease / Q000032:analysis*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D005408:Flagellin; D014508:Urea; D014510:Urease