The authors determined the sensitivity and specificity of a rapid late
x-agglutination test (Pylori-set) to detect Helicobacter pylori infect
ion and screened an asymptomatic Saudi population in different age gro
ups for H. pylori seroprevalence. The study was designed as a blind co
mparison of a commercial serologic test kit for serologic diagnosis of
H. pylori with a standard biopsy-related test in a tertiary referral
center and teaching hospital. We included 70 symptomatic male and fema
le Saudi patients, as well as 90 randomly collected sera from asymptom
atic Saudi patients. The sensitivity of the Pylori-set was 59%, with a
specificity of 89%. Screening of the asymptomatic Saudi population sh
owed an age increase in antibody prevalence, Because of the limited se
nsitivity in the investigated population, the use of this latex-agglut
ination test alone cannot be recommended for the serological diagnosis
of H. pylori infection in the Saudi population.