[Campylobacter pylori: clinical correlations and prospective comparative studies of various diagnostic techniques]

The diagnostic performance of two different urease tests and of histologic search after modified Giemsa staining to detect Campylobacter pylori (CP) colonization of the upper gastrointestinal tract was prospectively investigated in 215 esophagogastroduodenoscopies, by using a sensitive culture technique as reference. Single antral urease tests had a high specificity of 95-96%, but a limited sensitivity of 78-83%, which increased to 91-94%, when one antral and one additional body biopsy were submitted to the biochemical tests. Giemsa stains were very sensitive, but less specific. The rate of colonization was similar in antrum and body biopsies, and increased with age. There was a close association of Campylobacter pylori colonization with duodenal and to a lower degree with gastric ulcer disease, but especially with gastritic mucosal changes. CP was never detected in patients without gastritis. Therefore, submitting one antral and one body biopsy specimen to validated urease tests represents a sensitive (91-94%) and specific (93%) method to detect Campylobacter pylori colonization, which appears to be a diffuse phenomenon affecting antral and body mucosae with similar frequency.