An efficiency comparison between three invasive methods for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infections: Culture from stomach biopsy, rapid urease test (CUTest(®)), and histologic examination of gastric biopsy.

Background: Helicobacter pylori is one of the most prevalent pathogenic bacteria in the world, and humans are its principal reservoir. There are several available methods to diagnose H. pylori infection. Disagreement exists as to the best and most efficient method for diagnosis.

Methods: In this paper, we report the results of a comparison between three invasive methods for H. pylori diagnosis among 193 patients: culture, biopsy for histologic examination, and rapid urease test (CUTest(®)).

Results: We found that all three methods have a high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of infections caused by H. pylori. However, the culture method, which is not used routinely, also showed high sensitivity, probably due to biopsies' seeding within 30 minutes, using warm culture media, non-selective media, and longer incubation.

Conclusions: Although not a routine test, culture from biopsy can be meaningful in identification of antibiotic-resistant strains of H. pylori and should therefore be considered a useful diagnostic tool.