Specific conditions: Diagnosis of H. pylori infection in case of upper gastrointestinal bleeding

Abstract

The main causes for upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding are peptic ulcer disease such as benign gastric ulcer (BGU) or duodenal ulcer (DU). Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection was detected up to 70 % in patients with BGU and 90 % in patients with DU. Since many studies demonstrated the benefit of H. pylori eradication in decreasing peptic ulcer recurrences, as well as in bleeding cases, it is very important to diagnose the infection accurately among those with peptic ulcer diseases. There are several tests for detection of H. pylori with variable levels of sensitivity and specificity, and upper GI bleeding would reduce sensitivity. In case of upper GI bleeding, 13C-UBT urea breath test is more sensitive than tests with biopsied mucosa such as rapid urease test, histological test or culture study.