Abstract

COMPARISON OF STOOL ANTIGEN IMMUNOASSAY WITH INVASIVE METHODS FOR DETECTION OF HELICOBACTER PYLORI INFECTION IN IRAQI PATIENTS

Essmaa H. Gutef*

Abstract

Invasive and non-invasive techniques are used to diagnose Helicobacter pylori infection. Some factors influence the choice of a diagnostic test, such as the sensitivity and specificity of the tests. The aim was to assess diagnostic specifity and sensitivity of stool antigen tests (SAT) and rapid urease test (RUT) findings. Biopsy samples of patients in the study were evaluated as examples of invasive methods and stool sample for screening SAT. When RUT and SAT results were compared, sensitivity and specificity of RUT were 86.6% and 100%, and 91.1% and 100% for the SAT, respectively. Positive predictive value 100% with each and negative predictive values 65.2% and 70%. The differences were not statistically significant.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori, Diagnosis, Stool antigen test, RUT.