4 ways to test for HP bacteria

The article was professionally consulted with MSc.BSCKII Phan Thi Minh Huong - Gastroenterologist, Vinmec International Hospital Da Nang.

HP test is indicated when the patient has peptic ulcer with persistent signs, unusually severe progression. After treatment, the HP test is repeated to check whether the patient is completely cured or not.

Tests to test for HP bacteria in the stomach will be assigned to patients by doctors depending on the following factors:
Conditions of physical and technical facilities of the place of medical examination and treatment: The examination and treatment facility Has the patient had any HP tests and has met the performance standards? Request fast or slow test: In case the disease symptoms are not acute and the patient has time to wait for the results without much impact on health, the doctor will give preference to using slower tests, such as: bacteria culture. Other requirements attached to the HP infection test: Does the patient need to check the status of stomach damage, does the antibiotic need to be done? Based on the above characteristics, the doctor will decide to choose one of the HP bacteria tests, or do a combination of the following tests:

With this method, the doctor will use a small endoscope with a camera to thread it into the stomach through the esophageal tube and locate the ulcer. A biopsy piece around the site of the stomach injury is taken out to do a chlorine test or perform a bacterial culture, or simply observe the morphology of the lesion, from which the doctor can make a diagnosis. Preliminary status of HP infection of the patient.
For endoscopic testing, the doctor not only accurately diagnoses the patient's stomach - duodenal ulcer, but also can assess the level of symptoms, the location of the damage and give the patient a proper diagnosis. make judgments about the progression of the disease, as well as choose the most appropriate treatment regimen.
For many patients, especially the elderly, endoscopy can seem like an uncomfortable procedure. However, this is a very important procedure in the evaluation of gastric lesions that no other test is capable of doing. In addition, if the patient has been treated for HP bacteria but the symptoms are still present, the doctor will usually order an antibiotic chart to check the drug resistance of HP bacteria and decide to use another drug regimen that is appropriate. more suitable for the patient.

One of the non-invasive stomach testing methods, which is quite popular in many countries, including Vietnam, is the breath test for HP bacteria. The patient will hold a device in their hand and breathe into it. There are 2 types of breath test for HP bacteria being applied today:
Breath test using a balloon – the patient blows into a device that looks like a balloon. The breath test uses the card – the patient blows into the device like an ATM card. After that, the patient's breath will be checked and evaluated on the analyzer and the doctor will receive indicators to assess whether the patient is positive for HP or not. The breath test gives very accurate results and is often recommended for use on all subjects because the test time is quite fast, the doctor does not need to perform intervention, can be easily applied to children. The breath test for HP bacteria is especially useful for those who have been treated for HP and need to re-evaluate the effectiveness of treatment.
Currently, hospitals under the Vinmec International General Hospital system, use 13C carbon isotope in the breath test to diagnose H. pylori bacteria with the leading advanced machine with 02 airbags, both affordable and affordable. diagnostic treatment is very high (> 95%) and ensures patient safety.

Helicobacter pylori, if present in the stomach, will be regularly eliminated by the body through feces. Stool testing for HP bacteria by immunofluorescence helps doctors detect HP bacteria in stool accurately. This is also a preferred test to use in the evaluation of HP infection causing peptic ulcer.
Although the procedure is relatively easy for the patient, the results are quite accurate, the cost is reasonable, but this test does not give results quickly, so it sometimes causes inconvenience. In addition, taking stool from patients for testing also has many problems related to hygiene and convenience for both the patient and the technician.

When a patient has an HP infection, the body will produce anti-HP antibodies, this type of antibody is present in the blood and can be detected by a blood test for antibodies. The blood test to detect HP bacteria is a common test, available at most provincial and city medical examination and treatment facilities across the country.
However, this is not the preferred test type because the possibility of false positives is quite high. The reason is because HP bacteria can exist in many other areas and also make the blood test positive such as the oral cavity, the sinuses, the intestinal tract, but it does not cause disease at all. The second reason is that although the HP bacteria in the stomach have been completely destroyed, the patient is completely cured, but anti-HP antibodies still remain in the blood for many months to come, even a few years later. Therefore, only medical facilities that do not have any other testing methods must perform this type of test.

Each type of test will have different advantages and disadvantages. After the examination, the doctor will order the patient to perform the most suitable test.