Comparison of the Sensitivity and Specificity of Available Methods in Helicobacter Pylori Infection Detection in Children

Helicobacter pylori infection is common in children. It results in a series of diseases such as peptic ulcer، iron deficiency anemia، reduced growth، and gastrointestinal malignancies. Every test to detect H. pylori has particular limitations. Moreover، various noninvasive methods have different sensitivity and specificity. We investigated the sensitivity of available diagnostic methods to identify the best noninvasive method for detection of H. pylori. During a one-year period، 99 children who presented at Alzahra Hospital (Isfahan، Iran) with epigastric tenderness، abdominal pain at night، and early satiety were examined. They all underwent endoscopy and rapid urease and serologic tests. Stool samples were also obtained to detect H. pylori antigen. Culture was considered as the gold standard in diagnosis of H. pylori infection. The last step was the statistical analysis of the collected data. According to culture results، 33% of the patients were positive for H. pylori infection. The sensitivity and specificity of urease test were 61. 3% and 86. 6%، respectively. The corresponding values were 74. 1% and 98. 3% for serological tests and 74. 1% and 96. 7% for H. pylori antigen detection in stool. We found endoscopy to be the best method of H. pylori detection. Examining stool samples for the presence of H. pylori antigen and rapid urease test were the second and third methods in our ranking.