The strip test for hypolactasia also works without ethanol

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Clinical Diagnostics
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Hypolactasia diagnosis traditionally involves lactose tolerance tests.
• Urinary galactose detection offers a non-invasive diagnostic approach.
• Previous studies validated test strips with ethanol for lactose tolerance testing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reliability of urinary galactose test strips for diagnosing hypolactasia.
• To compare the efficacy of test strips with lactose alone versus lactose plus beta-pyridylcarbinol.
• To establish the urinary lactose tolerance test with ethanol (ULTTE) as the reference method.

Main Methods:

• Sixty-nine patients underwent testing using urinary galactose strips.
• Lactose load alone was administered to assess strip performance.
• Beta-pyridylcarbinol was added to the lactose load in a separate arm.
• Results were compared against the established ULTTE reference method.

Main Results:

• The test strip with lactose alone demonstrated 83% specificity and 88% sensitivity.
• A kappa coefficient of 0.61 indicated good agreement with the reference method.
• Adding beta-pyridylcarbinol did not substantially enhance the test's diagnostic accuracy.

Conclusions:

• The urinary galactose test strip is a reliable tool for diagnosing hypolactasia in general practice without requiring ethanol.
• The test offers sufficient accuracy for routine clinical use by general practitioners.
• The addition of beta-pyridylcarbinol to the test protocol does not provide significant additional diagnostic value.