Brief Reports
Copyright ©2005 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 21, 2005; 11(3): 412-414
Published online Jan 21, 2005. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i3.412
Reliability of urinary tests for antibody to Helicobacter pylori in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis
Takatsugu Yamamoto, Taro Ishii, Tomotaka Kawakami, Yoko Sase, Chiaki Horikawa, Nozomu Aoki, Masaki Sanaka, Yasushi Kuyama
Takatsugu Yamamoto, Taro Ishii, Tomotaka Kawakami, Masaki Sanaka, Yasushi Kuyama, Department of Internal Medicine, Teikyo University School of Medicine, 2-11-1 Kaga, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8606, Japan
Yoko Sase, Chiaki Horikawa, Nozomu Aoki, Hospital attached to the Institute of Chemotherapy, Konodai, Ichikawa-city, Chiba 272-0013, Japan
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Dr. Takatsugu Yamamoto, Department of Internal Medicine, Teikyo University School of Medicine, 2-11-1 Kaga, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8606, Japan. kuyama@med.teikyo-u.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-3-3964-1211 Fax: +81-3-5375-1308
Received: January 10, 2004
Revised: January 16, 2004
Accepted: February 24, 2004
Published online: January 21, 2005
Abstract

AIM: Although the quality of currently available urinary tests for detecting antibody to Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) have been proved in some populations, the accuracy has not been studied regarding patients who suffer from pulmonary tuberculosis with multi-drug treatments. The present study was conducted to evaluate the accuracy of these urinary tests for antibody to H pylori in these patients.

METHODS: Serum samples from 61 inpatients with pulmonary tuberculosis were tested using enzyme immunoassay, and urine samples were assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method (URINELISA) and immunochromatography method (RAPIRAN). Medicines prescribed to the patients were recorded for medical charts, to evaluate the influences on the results of urinary tests.

RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, and consistency of URINELISA against the serum test were 93.1%, 65.6%, and 78.6% respectively, and those of RAPIRAN were 86.2%, 93.7%, and 90.1% respectively, which were almost equal to the data previously reported. Prescribed medicines had little influence on the results.

CONCLUSION: The two urinary tests for detecting H pylori antibody have a diagnostic accuracy in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis given multiple anti-tuberculosis drugs.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori; Pulmonary Tuberculosis; Helicobacter pylori antibody; Urinary tests