Evaluation of the Atlas Helicobacter pylori Stool Antigen Test for Diagnosis of Infection in Adult Patients

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori) is one of the most important causes of dyspepsia and gastric cancer and diagnosis can be made by invasive or non-invasive methods. The Atlas Helicobacter pylori antigen test is a new rapid non-invasive method which is simple to conduct. The aim of this study was to determine its sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and accuracy. Materials and <br/><b>Methods</b>: This prospective study was conducted between July 2012 and December 2013. Stool samples of59 dyspeptic patients who underwent upper endoscopy were evaluated for H. pylori stool antigen. <br/><b>Results</b>: From the 59 patients who participated in this study, there were 36 (61%) males and 23 (39%) females. H. pylori was diagnosed in 24 (40.7%) gastric biopsies, 22 (91.7 %) of these being positive for the Atlas H. pylori antigen test. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and accuracy were 91.7%, 100%, 100%, 94.6% and 96.6% respectively. <br/><b>Conclusions</b>: The Atlas H. pylori antigen test is a new non-invasive method which is simple to perform and availsreliable results in a few minutes. Thus it can be the best option for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection due to its high sensitivity and specificity.