Use of the ammonia breath test in the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection

Abstract

Background: Helicobacter pylori is one of the most common infections in humans with a prevalence of 50% worldwide. Cheap and effective diagnosis is the first step of eradication. The objective of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of the ammonia breath test in the diagnosis of H. pylori.Methods: A total of 100 patients with symptoms of gastritis. All patients underwent the ammonia breath test, rapid urease test, and histopathological examination.Results: The ammonia breath test had a sensitivity of 91.04%, a specificity of 87.87%, a positive predictive value (PPV) of 93.84%, and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 82.85%. The rapid urease test demonstrated a sensitivity of 85.07%, a specificity of 93.93%, a PPV of 94.61%, and an NPV of 75.6%.Conclusions: The ammonia breath test is a cheap and viable alternative in the early diagnosis of H. pylori infections.