The aim of our study was to develop a rapid diagnostic urease test to demonstrate the presence of Helicobacter pylori in the Endoscopy room.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

200 consecutive patients referred to gastroscopy for different indications, were included in this study. One antral biopsy sample was obtained to be immersed in our test. The same sample was used for histological evaluation, considered to be the gold standard method for diagnose of Helicobacter pylori infection.

RESULTS:

135 patients (67.5%) were found positives and 65 patients (32.5%) were negatives in our test. 128 patients (64%) showed Helicobacter pylori on histological examination. Our test showed a sensitivity of 91%, specificity of 88.1%, and positive and negative predictive values of 95% and 80% respectively. A remarkable correlation between density of Helicobacter pylori and reading time was also observed, where a high density of the bacteria reduced the reaction time in this liquid test. Furthermore, an overall accuracy of 90% was shown, which is comparable with other available commercial tests.

CONCLUSION:

LUT is easy to handle, cost effective and fast, with a high positive predictive value.