A family healthcare provider in a rural area is treating a 40-year-old woman for dyspepsia. The patient has had chronic heartburn and abdominal pain for the past 2 months and is suspected of having Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection. The provider decides to perform a diagnostic test. Which of the following tests is the provider most likely test to use for initial diagnosis?
Correct answer: Stool antigen test
General Feedback
The best two non-invasive tests to diagnose active H. pylori infection are the stool antigen test and the urea breath test, both of which have high sensitivity and specificity. Either one may be used for diagnosis and follow-up to determine if the treatment was effective. Although an endoscopically-obtained biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosis, endoscopy should not be performed for the sole purpose of determining H. pylori infection status.
The stool antigen test detects antigens of H. pylori in the feces of the patient. This test can be used for initial diagnosis and, four weeks after the end of therapy, to determine if the organism was eradicated. This is a monoclonal enzyme immunoassay test with good sensitivity and specificity (94 and 97 percent, respectively), which are comparable to the urea breath test, another test which is also recommended for the initial diagnosis of H. pylori infection. False-negative results may occur in patients who are taking proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), bismuth compounds, or antibiotics.
A family healthcare provider in a rural area is treating a 40-year-old woman for dyspepsia. The patient has had chronic heartburn and abdominal pain for the past 2 months and is suspected of having Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection. The provider decides to perform a diagnostic test. Which of the following tests is the provider most likely test to use for initial diagnosis?
Correct answer: Stool antigen test
General Feedback
The best two non-invasive tests to diagnose active H. pylori infection are the stool antigen test and the urea breath test, both of which have high sensitivity and specificity. Either one may be used for diagnosis and follow-up to determine if the treatment was effective. Although an endoscopically-obtained biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosis, endoscopy should not be performed for the sole purpose of determining H. pylori infection status.
The stool antigen test detects antigens of H. pylori in the feces of the patient. This test can be used for initial diagnosis and, four weeks after the end of therapy, to determine if the organism was eradicated. This is a monoclonal enzyme immunoassay test with good sensitivity and specificity (94 and 97 percent, respectively), which are comparable to the urea breath test, another test which is also recommended for the initial diagnosis of H. pylori infection. False-negative results may occur in patients who are taking proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), bismuth compounds, or antibiotics.