Nj. Peng et al., Clinical significance of oral urease in diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection by [C-13]urea breath test, DIG DIS SCI, 46(8), 2001, pp. 1772-1778
This study was performed to evaluate the effect of oral flora on [C-13] ure
a breath test in detecting H. pylori infection and find an optimal method a
nd timing for sample collection. Forty-five volunteers were included in thi
s study. The [C-13] urea breath test was performed using mouthwash, endosco
pic administration, and conventional methods. According to the receiver-ope
rating characteristic curves, the earliest optimal time for discriminating
H. pylori-positive and H. pylori-negative patients was at 25 min with the
mouthwash method with 78% sensitivity and 82% specificity, at 2 min with th
e endoscopic administration method with 100% sensitivity and 100% specifici
ty, and at 6 min with the conventional method with 100% sensitivity and 95%
specificity. The study shows a significant effect of oral urease on the re
sults of the [C-13] urea breath test. The timing of sampling collection can
be shortened to 6 min with the conventional method or to 2 min through end
oscopic administration.