Fast agar-based urease test for detection of Helicobacter pylori infection in the stomach

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is an important etiological factor in the development of upper gastro intestinal tract (GIT) conditions. A variety of tests are now available to diagnose H. pylori infection but they require a relatively longer time to yield a definitive result. The present work describes fast agar-based urease (FABU) test for detection of the H. pylori in gastric biopsy.

One hundred and eighty-seven patients with upper GIT conditions were included in this study for the period from April 2003 to May 2004. One antral biopsy was taken from 100 patients while 2 antral biopsies were taken from 87 patients and inserted into FABU test, in addition to 3-4 biopsies were taken for histology examination.

Using one antral biopsy, the FABU test correctly identified 65 of the 78 biopsies positive for H. pylori by histology (83.3%). There were 11 false negative (FN) and 3 false positive (FP). This yields sensitivity of 85.5% and specificity of 87.5%. While when 2 antral biopsies were used, the test correctly identified 61 of 64 H. pylori infected patients (92.2%). There were 3 FP and 5 FN. This yields sensitivity of 92.4% and specificity of 85.7%. Also, the result of this study revealed that 73.2% of the total patients included in this study were infected with H. pylori. Approximately 46.5% were males and 26.7% were females.

The results of our study indicate that the FABU test is superior to other commercially available urease tests and provides rapid results of H. pylori status even before the patient is discharged from endoscopy suite.