Diagnosis of gastritis by means of a combination of serological analyses

Abstract

Background: Gastroscopy and examination of biopsy is normally required for diagnosis of gastritis. This is costly and inconvenient for the patient, and there is a need for a simple pregastroscopic screening method to reduce the endoscopy workload. Our aim was to develop a serological screening test for gastritis. Methods: Sera from subjects examined with gastroscopy and biopsy were analyzed for H,K-ATPase antibodies, Helicobacter pylori antibodies and pepsinogen I. The diagnoses were normal gastric mucosa ( n=50), duodenal ulcer ( n=53) and atrophic corpus gastritis, with ( n=50) or without pernicious anemia ( n=46). Results: An evaluation scheme was constructed to optimize the diagnostic agreement between serology and gastric mucosal morphology. The sensitivity to detect gastritis was 98% (146/149) (95% CI 94–100%) and the specificity 84% (42/50) (95% CI 71–93%). Additional sera from 483 subjects from the general population were analyzed. There was a good agreement between serology and gastric mucosal morphology. Conclusions: Assays of multiple serum analytes are useful for the initial screening of gastritis. They are complementary to upper gastroscopy by identification of subjects with a normal gastric mucosa, those who qualify for eradication of H. pylori, and those who have developed atrophy and are at risk of developing malignancy and, therefore, require gastroscopic examination.