Helicobacter pylori: incidence and comparison of three diagnostic methods in 196 Saudi patients with dyspepsia

One hundred and ninety-six symptomatic Saudi patients with dyspepsia underwent gastroscopy, and multiple biopsies were taken from the antrum of the stomach for identification of Helicobacter pylori. Three methods were studied for diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori, including urease test, culture and histopathology. The commonest gastroscopic findings were gastritis in 82 patients (41.84%) and duodenal ulcer in 40 patients (20.41%). Among the 196 patients, Helicobacter pylori was identified by histopathology in 145 patients (73.98%), the urease test was positive in 126 patients (64.29%), and a positive culture was obtained in 102 patients (52.04%). These results show that there is a high incidence of Helicobacter infection among Saudi patients with peptic ulcer disease or non-ulcer dyspepsia. Helicobacter pylori identification was more successful by histopathology than by the urease test or culture.