Abstract

Aim: Because there is no ideal method for diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), diagnostic tests should be chosen by evaluating the positive and negative aspects. We aimed to compare rapid urease test and 13C-urea breath test with histological examination as the gold standard, in dyspeptic children who underwent upper gastrointestinal system endoscopy for the etiology. Methods: Hospital records were evaluated retrospectively and age, gender, endoscopic diagnosis, histology, rapid urease and urea breath test results were noted. Sensitivity, specifity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, probability ratio, reliability ratio and kappa values were calculated for rapid urease and urea breath tests by taking presence of H. Pylori in histological examination as the gol d standard. Results: Fifty-one patients, of ıvhich 29 (56.9%) were girls and whose ages were between 3.9-17.3 (12.3±3.8) years, were included. H. Pylori was positive histologically in 49% (25/51) of the patients. Sensitivity, specifity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, probability ratio, reliability ratio and kappa values were 88%, 73%, 76%, 86%, 3.1, 80%, 0.61 for rapid urease test and were 92%, 20%, 73%, 50%, 2.75, 71%o, 0.14 for 13C-urea breath test, respectively. Conclusion: It may be proposed that histological examination should be performed if rapid urease test is negative. More extensive studies are needed to obtain more reliable results about 13C-urea breath test. In conclusion, there is no ideal method for diagnosis of H. Pylori. Rapid urease and 13c -urea breath tests should be evaluated with both positive and negative aspects.