Evaluation of stool antigen detection for diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection in adults

Objective: The aims of this study were to evaluate the performance of Helicobacter pylori stool antigen test in the diagnosis of H. pylori infection. Method. The study included 63 out patients attending the ULB-Lothier Clinic between January 1 and July 31, 2002. They underwent an upper endoscopy, as well as biopsies for histological examination and for culture of H. pylori. Stool samples of these patients were collected either the day of the endoscopy or within 24 hours and tested for H. pylori antigen (HpSA Test) Results: The mean age of study patients included 29 men and 34 women was 51(+/- :16) years. H. pylori infection was detected in 29 cases (46%) by culture and histology, and in 31 cases (49.2%) by detection of the antigen in the feces. In 27 patients, all methods were positive whereas 5 in they provided discrepant results. Compared to the reference methods (culture and histology), the HpSA test had a sensitivity of 96.5% and a specificity of 91.2%. PPV of 90.3% and NPV of 96.8%. Conclusion: The good correlation found between the results of the HpSA test and the methods based on endoscopy supports its use as an alternative to invasive methods of diagnosis of H. pylori infection and therapeutic follow-up.