Abstract
Introduction: Helicobacter pylori is one of the most important causes of the varied spectrum of gastroduodenal diseases. At present, several diagnostic techniques are available to identify infection with H. pylori, including rapid urease test (RUT). Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate RUT in the diagnosis of H. pylori infection in patients with upper GI symptoms suspecting peptic ulcer disease. Materials and Methods: It was a prospective study done in department of gastroenterology. Patients of both the sexes in the age group 18–60 years, attending with upper gastrointestinal symptoms suspecting peptic ulcer disease, during a period of 1 year were enrolled in the study. Results: Two ninety-one patients were included, 59% of male, with a mean age of 48.31 ± 15.79 years old. Most common identifiable lesions at endoscopy were antral erosion and gastritis. Significant association was observed between RUT results and biopsy findings. The study proves that positive result of RUT for H. pylori means 5.78 times chance of getting a positive finding in histology. Even though sensitivity of RUT for H. pylori infection was low, specificity was much higher. The sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values for RUT were, respectively, 41.12%, 88.3%, 71% and 68.47%, which was improved when patients taking proton-pump inhibitors were excluded. Conclusion: RUT positive alone of H. pylori infection is not sufficient as it has a low sensitivity and specificity. A negative RUT result does not fully exclude an active infection hence would need other tests like histology to confirm.
Published Version
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