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British Medical Bulletin 54:187-193 (1998)
© 1998 The British Council

research-article

Clinical practice - breath tests

G D Bell

Gastroenterology Department, Sunderland District General Hospital Sunderland, UK

Correspondence to: Professor G D Bell, Gastroenterology Department Sunderland Royal Hospital, Medical Sciences Faculty, Sunderland University, Kayll Rd, Sunderland SR4 7TP, UK.

Abstract

The underlying principle of the two non-invasive radio-labelled urea breath tests is similar. Both are positive when the patient's stomach is colonised by Helicobacter pylori because the organism's urease enzyme splits the orally administered urea isotope to labelled CO2 which is then detected in the expired breath. The tests thus reflect active infection and are idelally suited to monitoring the success or failure of different eradication therapies as well as studying rates of acquisition and re-infection/late recrudescence post treatment. [13C]-urea should always be used in children since it is the stable non-radioactive isotope but the [14C]-urea breath test is suitable for most adults, since the dose of radioactivity is minimal.


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