This study determined the efficiency of a gastric juice PCR test for the detection of H. pylori infection in patients receiving PPI therapy and compared it with histology and gastric biopsy PCR.

This study, led by Dr Javed Yakoob, is described in a research article to be published in the March 14, 2008, issue of the World Journal of Gastroenterology.

Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) is a gram-negative spiral bacterium that infects the human gastric mucosa and is associated with gastritis, gastroduodenal ulcer disease, gastric carcinoma, and lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue.

An accurate diagnosis of H pylori infection is important when seeking to cure patients with persistent gastric symptoms in which H pylori infection is suspected. In patients on acid-reducing drugs such as PPI or H2-receptor blockers (H2RB), the accuracy of the rapid urease test, urea breath test and histology are known to be lower for the diagnosis of H pylori infection.

In the view of the authors, the development of new targets to test for H pylori infection in patients with prior use of acid-reducing drugs is important, considering the morbidity and mortality associated with this infection. Gastric juice PCR has been evaluated as a highly specific and rapid method for the detection of H pylori.

Using an original design, this study represents a real and valuable advance in the methodology of diagnosis in this field. This research was performed by doctors with the Department of Microbiology and Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, at Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan. The study was funded by the Aga Khan University Research Committee.

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Reference: Yakoob J, Rasool S, Abbas Z, Jafri W, Abid S, Islam M, Ahmad Z. Gastric juice for the diagnosis of H pylori infection in patients on proton pump inhibitors. World J Gastroenterol 2008; 14(10): 1539-1543

About World Journal of Gastroenterology

World Journal of Gastroenterology (WJG), a leading international journal in gastroenterology and hepatology, has established a reputation for publishing first class research on esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, viral hepatitis, colorectal cancer, and H pylori infection and provides a forum for both clinicians and scientists. WJG has been indexed and abstracted in Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch) and Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, Index Medicus, MEDLINE and PubMed, Chemical Abstracts, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Abstracts Journals, Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology and Hepatology, CAB Abstracts and Global Health. ISI JCR 2003-2000 IF: 3.318, 2.532, 1.445 and 0.993. WJG is a weekly journal published by WJG Press. The publication dates are the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th day of every month. The WJG is supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30224801 and No. 30424812, and was founded with the name of China National Journal of New Gastroenterology on October 1, 1995, and renamed WJG on January 25, 1998.

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