Urea Breath Testing to Detect <em>Helicobacter pylori</em> in Patients with Peptic Ulcer Bleeding During Proton Pump Inhibitor Treatment

J Coll Physicians Surg Pak. 2023 May;33(5):587-589. doi: 10.29271/jcpsp.2023.05.587.

Abstract

This was a descriptive study carried out from January to December 2021, at Quanzhou First Hospital, an affiliated hospital of Fujian Medical University, to investigate the efficacy of the urea breath test in detecting Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with peptic ulcer bleeding affected with proton pump inhibitors. A total of 77 patients with peptic ulcer bleeding, who underwent urea breath testing after active bleeding, were divided into two groups. The Helicobacter pylori infection positivity rate in patients with peptic ulcer bleeding was 66.2%. The time from bleeding to detection and from admission to detection was not significantly different between the Helicobacter pylori-positive and -negative groups (p=0.840 and 0.285, respectively). Even with high-dose proton pump inhibitor treatment, a urea breath test can be performed after peptic ulcer bleeding ceases and results in an acceptable positivity rate. There was no significant difference in the accuracy of Helicobacter pylori detection between the time from bleeding to testing and from admission to testing. Key Words: Peptic ulcer, Helicobacter pylori, Upper gastrointestinal bleeding, Urea breath test, Proton pump inhibitor.

MeSH terms

  • Breath Tests / methods
  • Helicobacter Infections* / diagnosis
  • Helicobacter Infections* / drug therapy
  • Helicobacter pylori*
  • Humans
  • Peptic Ulcer Hemorrhage / chemically induced
  • Peptic Ulcer Hemorrhage / diagnosis
  • Peptic Ulcer Hemorrhage / drug therapy
  • Peptic Ulcer* / drug therapy
  • Proton Pump Inhibitors / adverse effects
  • Urea / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Proton Pump Inhibitors
  • Urea