Breathtek™ UBiT® for h. Pylori is a non-invasive, non-radioactive method for detecting urease activity associated with h. Pylori infection. It is FDA approved to confirm cure and offers 95.2% sensitivity and 89.7% specificity compared with endoscopic methods.
Price: $650 (Urea Breath Testing + Consult)
Time: Get your results 5-7 business days after test.
FAQs
No- This test is done at home and comes with prepaid shipping materials and everything you need to ensure proper delivery to the lab.
Web results are posted within 7-14 business days. Our office will notify you when test results have been reported.
Yes. The kit comes with easy to follow instructions
Yes. Dr Hagmeyer will review the test result with you. Each test comes with a 30-45 minute post-test review/explanation.
One we have placed the order for the test we are unable to issue a refund.
Patient conditions which warrant testing:
• Uninvestigated dyspepsia
• Duodenal or gastric ulcer (past or current)
• Atrophic gastritis
• Gastric malignancy
• Determine eradication success (test of cure)
Testing strongly recommended in these circumstances:
• Chronic use of NSAID, aspirin, or anti-secretory drug therapy • Relatives of patients with H. pylori infection or peptic ulcer
• Non-ulcer dyspepsia with no alarm symptoms
Order Your Personalized H.pylori Breath Test Profile which includes:
- Comprehensive H.Pylori Breath test
- One on one consult with Dr. Hagmeyer to discuss Test Results
- Recommendations for a Treatment plan and cost of treatment if necessary.
H. pylori is one of the most common bacterial infections in humans; 30%-40% of the US population is infected. Infection is thought to be acquired in childhood and may persist indefinitely without symptoms. Infection can also be acquired from infected persons living in close proximity.
H. pylori causes 75%-80% of the Peptic Ulcer Disease (PUD) cases. In the U.S. there are more than 6 million cases annually resulting in an annual cost of $6 billion.1,2 Patients infected with H. pylori havea higher risk of developing gastric cancer.
**May 2012 Lancet article states “H. pylori is one of six common infections that lead to cancer—it is preventable with early detection”.
Per guidance, symptomatic patients who have infection should be treated with antibiotics and retested after antibiotic therapy to determine eradication of the organism.
The Urea breath test (UBT)
The urea breath test (UBT) is a test for diagnosing the presence of a bacterium, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in the stomach.
While these bacteria live in your stomach lining, H. pylori make urea, a natural compound in the body.
As the bacteria make urea, they create ammonia and bicarbonate. Traces of these can be found in your breath.
The presence of Urea indicates that you are infected with H. pylori.
H. pylori causes inflammation, ulcers, and atrophy of the stomach.
H. pylori bacteria are spread through contact with feces from an infected person.
If the urea breath test is positive and the isotope is detected in the breath, it means that H. pylori is present in the stomach.
If the isotope is not found in the breath, the test results are negative for the infection.
When the H. pylori is effectively treated (eradicated) with treatment, the test changes from positive (isotope present) to negative (isotope absent).
BreathTesting For H.Pylori is:
- Convenient — Can be done in your doctor’s office or at a lab
- Easy — Simple to do, no invasive procedures, no messy collection cups, no painful needles
- Fast — The entire test process takes about 20 minutes
There are other testing options available to diagnose and confirm the cure of an H. pylori infection. Urea breath tests and stool tests both diagnose active infections in the stomach, while a blood test can only identify antibodies that could be from an active or previous infection.
Testing for H. pylori was previously done by serology, but this is no longer recommended because of its low sensitivity and inability to confirm eradication after therapy.2
Post therapy confirmatory testing is critical because 30% of patients fail to clear the organism after initial triple therapy.3
These patients require further evaluation and treatment.
The American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) and American Gastroenterological Associations (AGA) recommend, “test, treat, and retest to confirm eradication in patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia who are younger than age 55 and have no alarm symptoms.”1,2 To avoid false negative results, post treatment testing should be delayed until 4 weeks after completion of the drug regimen.
BreathTek® UBT is simple to perform and uses a balloon collection device. The patient first provides a baseline sample, and then drinks a citrus flavored, non-radioactive 13C-Urea solution. 15 minutes later, a second breath sample is collected.
What other tests might I have along with this test?
Testing For H Pylori Infections:
1) Stool Testing: Stool testing is useful when a doctor suspects a lower GI infection of H.pylori. You can learn more about testing for H.Pylori using a stool test here
2) Blood Tests: These tests look for anti-bodies to the H Pylori organism and will test for IgA, IgG and IgM reactions. If these anti-bodies test positive it is a clear diagnosis of an infectious process. Research has shown that this is a good test for acute infections but long-term infections and individuals with weakened immunity often do not have elevated anti-bodies.
The other issue with H Pylori antibodies is they may be present even when the infection is under control. This means you will test positive even when you are actually negative and the organisms are in their proper numbers.
3) H Pylori Breath Test: The H Pylori organism produces urease which breaks down urea in the stomach into ammonia and carbon dioxide. The breath test measures for elevated CO2 that is produced from this reaction.
4) Endoscopy: This is a highly invasive procedure where a scope is inserted into the esophagus and stomach. This is stressful on the body and does a poor job of analyzing for the presence of this infection but it can see the results of the infection such as irritation, ulcerations and cancer in the stomach.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Patients should discontinue PPIs (includes Prilosec, Prevacid, Aciphex, Nexium), antibiotics and preparations containing bismuth (Pepto-Bismol), 2 weeks before diagnostic testing and 4 weeks before post treatment testing. The test is approved for initial testing on patients who may have taken PPIs within 2 weeks prior to a test. A positive result can be considered positive and acted upon. If negative, it is recommended to stop PPIs for 2 weeks and repeat test.
H2 antagonists may be substituted for PPIs. These medications do not affect test results and include Zantac, Tagamet, Pepcid and Axid.
Patients should be NPO for one hour before the test is done (no food, liquids, or smoking). The test may not be suitable for patients with Phenylketonuria whose dietary phenylalanine should be restricted.
Age, gender, height and weight information required for patients age 3 to 17.