The diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori requires a multidisciplinary approach. The understanding of the spectrum of disease associated with this unusual bacterium has been developing over the past several years. Studies of treatment regimes involving several antibiotics and proton pump inhibitors now suggest that these kinds of therapies are necessary to improve eradication rates of H. pylori. These observations make it even more important that H. pylori infection is diagnosed accurately.
Gastroenterologists are the most important component of the diagnostic team.
Experience and understanding of the disease spectrum and of other conditions that may either mask an H. pylori infection or mimic it are essential. The laboratory tools serve as adjuncts to the primary investigation by the gastroenterologist. The sample should be submitted to the laboratory within 30 minutes of collection and read approximately one hour later. The specificity of this method is high, but may require more than one sample because of the patchy nature of organisms at the infected site. Histopathology of antral or duodenal biopsies .