Diagnosing Peptic Ulcers

Meretek Diagnostics, Inc. exhibited its BreathTek UBT (urea breath test) kit at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery. BreathTek UBT is the only breath test available that is FDA cleared to test for both initial diagnosis and post treatment monitoring of H. pylori infection in adults (it hasn't yet been tested enough on people under 18.)

The BreathTek UBT is to be administered under a physician's supervision. Its said that the BreathTek UBT should not be used until four weeks after the end of treatment for the eradication of H. pylori as earlier post-treatment assessment may give false negative results. The test is simple, non-radioactive, and non-invasive.

Traditionally doctors may perform an endoscopy and imaging studies to determine if a patient has an ulcer. Doctors also test for H. pylori infections because almost all ulcer patients who are not taking NSAIDs are infected. If a person with an NSAID ulcer also tests positive for H. pylori, he or she will be treated with antibiotics to kill the bacteria. Other noninvasive tests include blood tests for immune response and a breath test.

Source: Meretek Diagnostics