Advantages and disadvantages of diagnostic testing for Helicobacter pylori

Test MethodsAdvantageDisadvantage 
HistologyExcellent Sensitivity and specificityExpensive and requires infrastructure and trained personnel
Rapid Urease Testing Inexpensive and provides rapid results. Excellent specificity and very good sensitivity in properly selected patients.Sensitivity significantly reduced in post- treatment setting
CultureExcellent specificity. Allows determination of antibiotic sensitivities.Expensive, difficult to perform, and not widely available.
Antibody testing(quantitative and qualitative)Inexpensive, widely available, very good negative predictive value (NPV).Positive predictive value (PPV) dependent upon backgroundH. pylori prevalence. Not recommended after H.pyloritherapy.
Urea breath tests 

Identifies active H.pylori infection. Excellent PPV and NPV regardless of H.pylori prevalence.
Fecal antigen test

Identifies active H.pylori infection. Excellent positive and negative predictive values regardless of H.pylori prevalence. Useful before and after H.pylori therapy. Polyclonal test less well validated than the UBT in the post-treatment setting. Monoclonal test appears reliable before and after antibiotic therapy. Unpleasantness associated with collecting stool.

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