The patient is lightly sedated, and the doctor carefully eases the endoscope into the mouth and down the throat to the stomach and duodenum. This allows the doctor to see the lining of the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum. The doctor can use the endoscope to take photos of ulcers or remove a tiny piece of tissue to view under a microscope. If an ulcer is found, the doctor will test the patient for H. pylori . H. pylori is diagnosed through blood, breath, stool, and tissue tests.
Blood tests are most common.
They detect antibodies to H. pylori bacteria. Blood is taken at the doctor's office through a finger stick. Urea breath tests are mainly used after treatment to see whether it worked, but they can be used in diagnosis too. In the doctor's office, the patient drinks a urea solution that contains a special carbon atom. If H. pylori is present, it breaks down the urea, releasing the carbon.