Where to make a breath test for helikobakter. Preparation and conduct of the study

Helicobacter pylori is a gram-negative bacterium, spiral-shaped, capable of infecting the mucous membrane of the duodenum and stomach and thereby provoking the development of gastritis, ulcers, duodenitis, cancers and lymphomas. But infection with this bacterium does not always cause the listed diseases. In 90% of cases, Helicobacter carriage does not cause any pathology.

Symptoms of Helicobacteriosis

Frequent pain on an empty stomach, which disappears after a meal, may indicate the presence of a stomach ulcer or duodenal ulcer, and therefore, and infection Helicobacter pylori. Pain in the epigastric region may disturb at night. Sometimes they subside after an alkaline drink, for example, a glass of milk.

In addition, the presence of this infection in the body may indicate gravity in the stomach, frequent heartburn or nausea. Vomiting, as a rule, does not happen. Sometimes patients notice changes in taste preferences. There may be an aversion to meat dishes. Fatty meat food in these patients is poorly digested.

What studies confirm the presence of Helicobacter in the body?

There are several methods for determining the presence of this infection in the body.

• Blood test for antibodies to Helicobacter bacteria.
• Study feces on the antigen of the pathogen.
• Respiratory test is not Helicobacter.
• Cytological examination of the material obtained with fibroadastroduodenoscopy (FGD).

As a rule, the diagnosis is made only after two methods of research on Helicobacter pylori were positive. To date, the most reliable and effective method of detecting this pathogen is to study the material obtained during endoscopy. But it is not always possible to conduct an invasive method of detecting this infection, for example, it is contraindicated for pregnant women, as well as for children. These categories of patients are appropriate to make a breath test for Helicobacter. It is carried out quite easily and has no undesirable consequences.

Ureazny respiratory test for Helicobacter pylori

This method of investigation is based on measuring the concentration of urea in the air exhaled by the patient after ingestion. The bacterium Helicobacter pylori is able to synthesize a special enzyme - urease. This enzyme has a cleavage effect on urea. In the intestine it under the influence of urease, secreted by bacteria, is split into components - ammonia and carbon dioxide, which, when breathed, is released by the lungs. Its concentration and evaluate by conducting a breath test for Helicobacter. The concentration of carbon dioxide is determined before taking urea by the patient and then in several samples.

Indications

Patients are advised to take a breath test for Helicobacter in the following cases:

• If there is a history of stomach ulcers or 12 duodenal ulcers.
• If you suspect a gastritis, a ulcer of the duodenum or stomach.
• If the patient has complaints of severity and epigastric pain, eructation or heartburn.
• With non-ulcer dyspepsia.
• To monitor the ongoing therapy for this infection.

How to prepare for the study?

In order for doctors to correctly assess the respiratory test for Helicobacter pylori, one must prepare for it. Otherwise, the results of the analysis may give incorrect information. In the case of taking certain medicines, it may take up to three weeks to prepare the patient for this study.

• Three weeks before the study, it is necessary to stop taking antibiotics, bismuth drugs and antacids - these drugs that reduce the acidity of gastric juice.
• Three days before the study, it is forbidden to take any alcoholic beverages.
• The day before the analysis, you should not eat foods that increase gas formation (legumes, cabbage, black bread, potatoes, etc.).
• On the eve dinner should be light and not too late.
• In the morning on the day of the study, you can not have breakfast and smoke.

In the morning you just need to brush your teeth - this is mandatory, but breathing is not allowed to refresh with chewing gum. If you really want to drink this morning, you can make a couple of sips of pure boiled water, but no later than one hour before the test.

A false-positive test can provoke once done resection of the stomach or achlorhydria - a condition in which gastric acid completely lacks hydrochloric acid (it is not produced by gastric cells).

How is the Helicobacter test performed?

First, the medical worker suggests the patient to breathe through a special tube. You need to breathe calmly, as a person does in the usual situation. At this stage, two samples of exhaled air are taken.

Then the patient is offered to drink 5% urea solution. After 5 minutes, take a sample of exhaled air, turning the indicator tube with the other end. Thus, three more samples are taken. An increase in the concentration of ammonia in the air exhaled by the patient is estimated.

If the concentration of ammonia exceeds 0.5 mg / ml, the pylori heliobacter pylori test is considered positive.

The procedure does not cause any negative sensations. Discomfort can only deliver saliva. To properly evaluate the result, it should not fall into the tube, otherwise the test can be corrupted. If you can not swallow it, then periodically allowed to take small breaks and take out the handset. After swallowing the saliva, the study continues. If, however, the saliva got into the indicator tube and the test did not work, you can repeat it in 50-60 minutes.

How to choose a laboratory?

Modern test systems are automated, and the test is evaluated not by a person, but by an apparatus. In addition, there are systems whose indicator tubes are protected from the ingress of saliva into them. This makes the procedure more comfortable. And the research itself takes less time.

Before choosing a laboratory in which you are going to do a breath test for Helicobacter, you should find out what technique is used for this and on what equipment will be tested.

The cost of the test can be quite high. It depends on the comfort for the patient and the accuracy of the study. Hardware research is more accurate.

How to evaluate the results?

So, passed the breath test for helikobakter. The results are obtained. How should they be assessed? The evaluation of this study can be qualitative and quantitative.

A qualitative reaction is positive when urease activity of these bacteria is detected, and negative if it was not found.

Quantitative results of the study are obtained by means of a special apparatus called a mass spectrometer. The result is calculated as a percentage. These figures show in the exhaled air the percentage of the stabilized isotope, by which the degree of infection of the gastric mucosa with Helicobacter pylori bacteria can be assessed. There are four degrees of infection:

1. Easy - from 1 to 3.4%.
2. Average - from 3,5 to 6,4%.
3. Heavy - from 6.4 to 9.5%.
4. Extremely heavy - more than 9.5%.

What is the norm when evaluating the results of such an investigation, as the respiratory test for Helicobacter? It is considered such an indicator when only the traces of labeled carbon dioxide are detected in the exhaled air. If urease activity is not detected, then the patient's body is not infected with harmful bacteria. This is the norm.

The test is positive. What to do?

If the respiratory test for Helicobacter pylori gave a positive result, as a rule, additional tests are prescribed that can confirm the presence of this bacterium in the patient's body. It can be a study of feces on the antigen of this bacterium or a blood test, confirming the presence of antibodies to Helicobacter pylori. In the event that additional studies are positive, the doctor will prescribe the necessary therapy.

Helicobacter pylori is the main etiological factor in the development of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.