A systematic review of diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection by Helicobacter pylori stool antigen test

Abstract

To evaluate the accuracy of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) stool antigen test for diagnosing Hp infection. Articles related to diagnosis of Hp infection by Hp stool antigen test, published before March 2004, were retrieved in the databanks such as CBMdisc, CMCC, CNKI, and VIP. Related journals were searched manually. Meta-analysis was performed by SROC curve recommended by Diagnostic and Screening Group of the Cochrane Collaboration Web with the parameters such as sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, predictive values, and likelihood ratio. In total 19 studies including 3123 patients met the inclusion criteria. The sensitivity of Hp stool antigen for the diagnosis of Hp infection was 94% and its specificity was 93%. Helicobacter pylori stool antigen examination is a simple, noninvasive and highly accurate method in diagnosis of Hp infection.