THE BREATH TEST - A CALL FOR MORE REGIONAL USE

Objective: Although the C-13-urea breath test is commonly used for det ection of Helicobacter pylori infection and eradication, access to com mercial testing centres for analysis may at times limit its use. We ha ve addressed this issue by establishing a regional-based means of anal ysis as a Hospital-University collaboration. Design/methods: A blind c omparison was undertaken of C-13-urea breath test results performed 'i n house' by the stable isotope laboratory in Queen's University Belfas t and a commercially available C-13-urea breath test. Results: The H. pylori status of the patients (n = 110) agreed for all patients (kappa score = 1). The excess values showed good agreement. The cost of the 'in house' breath test was less than 20 pounds compared with 32.90 pou nds for the commercial breath test. Conclusion: Regional access to the C-13-urea breath test could decrease costs, increase availability of testing, improve local health services and economy and increase collab orative research opportunities.