VALIDATION OF 13C-UREA BREATH TEST WITH NON DISPERSIVE ISOTOPE SELECTIVE INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF HELICOBACTER PYLORI INFECTION: A SURVEY IN IRANIAN POPULATION

The urea breath test (UBT) which is carried out with 13C or 14C labeled urea is one of the most importantnon invasive methods for detection of Helicobacter pylori infection. Application of 13C-UBT is becomingincreasingly popular because of its non radioactive nature which makes it suitable for diagnostic purposesin children and women of child bearing ages. While isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) is generallyused to detect 13C in expired breath, this instrument is expensive and recently non dispersive isotopeselective infrared (NDIR) spectroscopy which is a lower cost technique has been employed as a reliablecounterpart for IRMS in small clinics. The aim of this study was to assess the validity of NDIRspectroscopy technique in Iranian population in comparison with histological examination, rapid ureasetest and 14C-urea breath test as gold standard. Seventy six patients with dyspepsia were underwent 13CUBTfor diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection. Good agreements were found between the 13C-UBTand gold standard methods. The 13C-UBT showed 100% sensitivity, 97.3% specificity, 97.56% positivepredictive value, 100% negative predictive value and 98.65% accuracy. On the basis of these results itcould be concluded that 13C-UBT performed with NDIR spectroscopy is a reliable, accurate and noninvasive diagnostic tool for detection of Helicobacter pylori infection in the Iranian population.