13 C‐Urea Breath Test to Diagnose Helicobacter pylori Infection in Children Aged up to 6 Years
ABSTRACT Background. 13 C‐urea breath test ( 13 C‐UBT) is an accurate noninvasive tool for diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection. It is considered the best method for epidemiological studies, but there are few studies to evaluate the 13 C‐UBT in infants and toddlers. Aim. To evaluate the 13 C...
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Published in | Helicobacter (Cambridge, Mass.) Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 39 - 45 |
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Main Authors | , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
01.02.2004
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Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | ABSTRACT
Background.
13
C‐urea breath test (
13
C‐UBT) is an accurate noninvasive tool for diagnosis of
Helicobacter pylori
infection. It is considered the best method for epidemiological studies, but there are few studies to evaluate the
13
C‐UBT in infants and toddlers.
Aim.
To evaluate the
13
C‐UBT performed with infrared spectroscopy in children aged up to 6 years.
Patients.
Sixty‐eight patients (6 months. to 5 years 11 months.) were evaluated prospectively and consecutively.
Methods.
Helicobacter pylori
infection was detected by positive culture, or rapid urease test and histological examination, both positive.
13
C‐UBT was performed with 50 mg of
13
C‐urea diluted in 100 ml of commercial orange juice. Two expired air samples were collected: before and 30 minutes after tracer ingestion. Cutoff of delta over baseline (DOB) was 4.0‰ and urea hydrolysis rate 10 µg/minute.
Results.
Fifteen of 68 (22.1%) patients were
H. pylori
infected. Sensitivity was 93.3% (95% CI; 86.8%–99.7%) and specificity was 96.2% (95% CI; 93.6%–98.8%), and these values were equal for DOB and urea hydrolysis rate. Negative DOB values in noninfected patients ranged from −1.5‰ to 2.6‰ and positive DOB values ranged from 10.8‰ to 105.5‰. There was no relationship between DOB values and age.
Conclusion.
13
C‐UBT performed with infrared spectroscopy proved to be a reliable and accurate noninvasive diagnostic tool for
H. pylor
i infection detection in children aged up to 6 years. Results far from cutoff value can clearly distinguish positive from negative
13
C‐UBT results in children up to 6 years old. |
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ISSN: | 1083-4389 1523-5378 |
DOI: | 10.1111/j.1083-4389.2004.00196.x |