Influence of proton pump inhibitor treatment on Helicobacter pylori stool antigen test

AIM: To investigate the effects of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) treatment on stool antigen test using the TestMate pylori enzyme immunoassay. METHODS: This study assessed 28 patients [16 men and 12 women; mean age (63.1 +/- 5.9) years; range, 25-84 years] who underwent stool antigen test and urea breath test (UBT) before and after PPI administration. RESULTS: Using the UBT as the standard, the sensitivity, specificity and agreement of the stool antigen test in all 28 patients were 95.2%, 71.4%, and 89.3%, respectively, before PPI administration, and 88.9%, 90.9%, and 89.3%, respectively, after PPI treatment. Mean UBT values were 23.98% +/- 5.33% before and 16.19% +/- 4.75% after PPI treatment and, in 15 patients treated for >= 4 wk, were significantly lower after than before 4 wk of PPI treatment (12.58% +/- 4.49% vs 24.53% +/- 8.53%, P = 0.048). The mean optical density (A(450/630)) ratios on the stool antigen test were 1.16 +/- 0.20 before and 1.17 +/- 0.24 after PPI treatment (P = 0.989), and were 1.02 +/- 0.26 and 0.69 +/- 0.28, respectively, in the group treated for > 4 wk (P = 0.099). CONCLUSION: The stool antigen test was equally sensitive to the UBT, making it a useful and reliable diagnostic method, even during PPI administration. (C) 2012 Baishideng. All rights reserved.