13C-urea breath test for detection of Helicobacter pylori and its correlation with endoscopic and histologic findings

The urea breath test (UBT) reflects the intragastric urease activity and thus the extent of H. pylori (H.p.) burden of the mucosa. We compared UBT results with gastroscopic and histologic findings in 174 patients. H.p.density, grade and activity of the chronic gastritis type B were semiquantitatively assessed. 46% of patients were H.p.-positive. A type B gastritis was significantly (p < 0.01) associated with H.p. colonization. UBT-results significantly correlated with the grade (r = 0.53) and the activity (r = 0.45) of gastritis. They correlated better with grade and activity of the inflammation than did the H.p.-density in histology (r = 0.38 and r = 0.37). There is a considerable interindividual variability in UBT-results for the same degree of gastritis indicating that besides the number of bacteria other factors must be of significance for the severity of inflammation. Endoscopic findings apart from ulcers do not predict the presence of H.p.