Efficacy of stool antigen test for the non-invasive diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection in dyspeptic patients referred to GI clinic of Kashan Shahid Beheshti Hospital during 2005-7

Dyspepsia is one of the most common ailments today and Helicobacter pylori infection is known as one of the common causes of dyspepsia in adults and children. Histopathologic diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori is a standard method and biopsy samples can be obtained by invasive endoscopy method. The current study was designed to evaluate the diagnostic value of stool antigen test of Helicobacter pylori as a non-invasive method. One-hundred dyspeptic patients (50 men and 50 women) with a mean age of 43.3±17.13 referred to GI clinic of Kashan Shahid Beheshti Hospital from 2005 to 2007 were involved in this study. In upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, mucosal biopsy was taken from antrum and corpus; simultaneous examination of the stool antigen sample for diagnosing of Helicobacter pylori was evaluated using ELISA method (positive titer>1/1). Data were collected and analyzed for sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value in stool antigen test were %83.3, %79.4, 88.7% and 71.7%, respectively. There was a direct correlation between the severity of Helicobacter pylori infection and stool antigen titer in biopsy samples. The stool antigen test as a noninvasive method of diagnosing Helicobacter pylori can be regarded as an affordable alternative to the invasive biopsy procedure.