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FIVE MICRO‐CURIE UREA BREATH TEST FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF HELICOBACTER PYLORI INFECTION: EVALUATION IN A SOUTH‐EAST ASIAN POPULATION
Author(s) -
Yu W. K.,
Chow P. K. H.,
Y Tan S.,
Ng E. H.,
Goh A. S. W.,
Soo K. C.,
Aw S. E.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.111
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 0004-8682
DOI - 10.1046/j.1440-1622.1999.01489.x
Subject(s) - medicine , gold standard (test) , helicobacter pylori , urea breath test , histology , breath test , population , helicobacter pylori infection , gastroenterology , traditional medicine , pathology , environmental health
Background : Helicobacter pylori is an important pathogen responsible for significant morbidity and mortality. Its prevalence varies widely in different geographical locations and is especially high in parts of Asia. Methods : A double‐blind study was carried out to evaluate the use of the 5 μCi (185 KBq) [14C]‐urea breath test ([ 14 C]‐UBT) in a South‐East Asian population by validating its diagnostic accuracy against histology and the CLO test. Results : The sensitivity and specificity of the [ 14 C]‐UBT was 100% when compared against the CLO test. When histology was used as the ‘gold standard’, the sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 97.2%, respectively. There was no overlap or indeterminate values between positive and negative results on the [ 14 C]‐UBT. Conclusions : Among South‐East Asian populations where the prevalence of H. pylori infection is high, the high sensitivity of the 5 μCi [ 14 C]‐UBT makes it a very important test in the detection of H. pylori .