Diagnostic accuracy of C-14 urea breath test for detection of helicobacter pylori in patients with gastritis

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of C-14 Urea Breath Test for detection of helicobacter pylori infection in patients with gastritis. Study Design: Cross-sectional validation study. Place and Duration of Study: Nuclear Medical Centre, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, from Feb to Aug 2016. Methodology: After fulfilling inclusion and exclusion criteria, 110 patients of both genders, aged between 18-50 years, were enrolled. Prior written informed consent was obtained from each patient. First, they were assessed by C-14 Urea Breath Test, followed by endoscopic biopsy and histopathology. Results of C-14 Urea Breath Test were compared to histopathology diagnosis which was taken as gold standard. Results: Patients' ages ranged from 18-50 years with a mean ± SD of 37.45 ± 10.21 years. Seventy four (67.3%) of them were males and 36 (32.7%) were females. Sixty four (58.2%) patients were suspected of helicobacter pylori on C-14 Urea breath test. However, histopathology of endoscopic biopsy confirmed helicobacter pylori in 66 (60%) patients yielding 64 true positive, 44 true negative and 2 false negative cases. Calculated sensitivity was 96.97%, specificity 100% and accuracy was 98.18% for C-14 Urea Breath Test with negative and positive predictive values of 95.65% and 100% respectively. Conclusion: C-14 Urea Breath Test is highly accurate, sensitive and specific test for detection of helicobacter pylori infection, irrespective of patient's age and gender. (author)