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13 C‐urea breath test without a test meal is highly accurate for the detection of Helicobacter pylori infection in Chinese
Author(s) -
Wong W. M.,
Wong B. C. Y.,
Wong K. W.,
Fung F. M. Y.,
Lai K. C.,
Hu W. H. C.,
Yuen S. T.,
Leung S. Y.,
Lau G. K. K.,
Lai C. L.,
Chan C. K.,
Go R.,
Lam S. K.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
alimentary pharmacology and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.308
H-Index - 177
eISSN - 1365-2036
pISSN - 0269-2813
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2036.2000.00843.x
Subject(s) - medicine , helicobacter pylori , breath test , urea breath test , test (biology) , urea , helicobacter infections , meal , gastroenterology , spirillaceae , helicobacter pylori infection , gastritis , biology , biochemistry , paleontology
Background: Conventional 13 C‐urea breath testing ( 13 C‐UBT) includes a test meal to delay gastric emptying, which, theoretically, improves the accuracy of the test. Citric acid has been proposed as the best test meal. However, recent studies have suggested that a test meal may not be necessary. Aim: To investigate a new 13 C‐UBT protocol without a test meal in a Chinese population. Methods: Consecutive dyspeptic patients referred for upper endoscopy were recruited. 13 C‐UBT was performed on two separate days with or without a test meal (2.4 Gm citric acid) and compared with the ‘gold standard’ (CLO test and histology). Results: Two hundred and two patients were tested. Using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis, the optimal delta‐value and optimal measurement interval for UBT were 5% and 30 min, respectively, both with or without a test meal. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of 13 C‐UBT with citric acid (96.5%, 97.7%, 98.2%, 95.6%, 97.0%) were similar to 13 C‐UBT without a test meal (94.7%, 97.7%, 98.2%, 93.5%, 96.0%). Conclusion: This simplified 13 C‐UBT protocol without a test meal produced highly accurate and reliable results in the Chinese population.