Open AccessStability of 13 C‐Urea Breath Test Samples Over Time in the Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori
Author(s) -
Perets Tsachi Tsadok,
Shporn Einav,
Boltin Doron,
Dickman Ram,
Niv Yaron
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of clinical laboratory analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1098-2825
pISSN - 0887-8013
DOI - 10.1002/jcla.21841
Subject(s) - repeatability , urea breath test , breath test , urea , medicine , zoology , helicobacter pylori infection , nuclear medicine , chemistry , chromatography , gastroenterology , helicobacter pylori , biology , biochemistry
Background The accuracy and repeatability of breath test in the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection have not been adequately investigated. Although it has been shown that storage for long periods does not affect the analysis results, no data are available on the effect of repetitive testing. In this study, our aim was to evaluate the repeatability of the analyses of breath samples at room temperature. Methods A total of 202 positive breath samples were collected in duplicates, before and after administration of 75 mg 13 C‐ urea dissolved in 100 ml of orange juice. Breath test results were expressed as delta 13 CO 2 . The cut‐off value was 3.5 parts per thousand. Each sample was analyzed in a mass spectrometer 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after collection. The accuracy calculation was based on the comparison of the delta 13 CO 2 obtained in the three consecutive weeks following the first test run to the delta 13 CO 2 obtained in the first test run. Results Two hundred (99%), 197 (97.52%), and 196 (97%) of the 202 samples tested positive in the second, third, and fourth test runs, respectively. The accuracy of the delta 13 CO 2 was 98.6%, 99.2%, and 96.7% in the three consecutive runs, respectively. Conclusion Short‐term storage of 1 month does not affect sample stability or the results of 13 C‐urea breath tests in up to three consecutive repeats.