Diagnosing Ulcers

The doctor may perform an endoscopy and imaging studies to determine if a patient has an ulcer. An endoscopy is considered the best procedure for diagnosing ulcers and for taking samples of tissues for biopsies. An endoscope is a slender tube-shaped instrument which allows the doctor to view the tissues lining the stomach and duodenum.
 

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. The doctor may also take a blood test to see if the patient is anemic due to a bleeding ulcer.
 
Meretek Diagnostics, Inc. has recently 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.
 

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