Diagnostic performance of fecal Helicobacter pylori antigen test in Uganda

Abstract

We evaluated the diagnostic performance of a qualitative stool antigen test (SAT) in individuals with dyspepsia in rural Uganda using the polymerase chain reaction-based 16S ribosomal RNA assay (16S rRNA) for nucleotide sequences for two common H. pylori-associated genes as the reference standard. We enrolled 150 adults with dyspepsia with no self-reported use of antibiotic and/or antiacid medication medications within a fortnight. We performed blinded SAT on fecal specimens and 16S rRNA tests on gastric specimens. Using nonlinear mixed models, SAT had a sensitivity of 85⋅1% (95%CI 76⋅54%, 93⋅6%), and specificity of 97⋅6% (95%CI 94⋅3, 100). Twelve individuals with dyspepsia need to be tested to correctly diagnose 10 with H. pylori infection using SAT. The SAT is a robust diagnostic test to improve the diagnosis of H. pylori infection in people with dyspepsia in resource-limited settings.

Effect of concurrent infection of Helicobacter pylori with Toxoplasma gondii infection on gastric pathology

“…Our study revealed false positive results detected by the SAT exhibited and were negative in gastric biopsies. These results contrasted with a recent study conducted in Uganda, which emphasized the exceptional role of the SAT in detecting H. pylori in regions with a high prevalence of the disease Owot et al [ 24 ] and agreed with the results of Zubair et al [ 33 ] who reported the limited sensitivity and diagnostic accuracy of the HPSA test.…”