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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, October 1999, p. 3328-3331, Vol. 37, No. 10
Department of
Pediatrics1 and Department of Clinical
Microbiology,
Received 4 February 1999/Returned for modification 23 March
1999/Accepted 14 June 1999
A serum immunoglobulin G enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for
Helicobacter pylori antibodies already in use in adults was
evaluated with 99 pediatric serum samples to determine its usefulness
for the study of H. pylori disease in children. The
reference method used was either the 13C-urea breath test
or a biopsy culture of gastric mucosa. In children, an EIA cutoff of
0.35 absorbancy unit yielded sensitivity, specificity, and positive and
negative predictive values of 93, 97, 93, and 97%, respectively. The
cutoff recommended when this EIA was published for use in adults was
0.70 absorbancy unit (H. Gnarpe, P. Unge, C. Blomqvist, and S. Mäkitalo, APMIS 96:128-132, 1988). Another subset of 169 serum
samples taken from children was analyzed by four serological tests in
order to compare the performance of the in-house EIA with the
Pyloriset, HM-CAP, and Helico-G kits. For the 169 samples, 10 (5.9%)
false-positives and no false-negatives occurred with the Helico-G, 3 (1.8%) false-positives and no false-negatives occurred with the
Pyloriset, and 3 (1.8%) false-positives and 1 (0.6%) false-negative
occurred with the HM-CAP. For the 169 samples, 1 (0.6%) false-positive
and no false-negatives occurred with the in-house EIA. Serological
detection of H. pylori antibodies with our EIA seems to be
valuable in diagnosing H. pylori infection in children, but
only if a lowered, specific pediatric cutoff is established. The
commercial kits, particularly the Helico-G, seem to overdiagnose
pediatric H. pylori infection. A positive serological test
for H. pylori infection, particularly for children, needs
to be confirmed by a reference method because of the possibility of
spontaneous eradication of infection, with a lingering serological response.
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Detection of Helicobacter pylori Antibodies in a
Pediatric Population: Comparison of Three Commercially Available
Serological Tests and One In-House Enzyme Immunoassay
*
Corresponding author. Present address: Department of
Pediatrics, Örebro Medical Centre Hospital, S-701 85 Örebro, Sweden. Phone: 46 19 15 10 00. Fax: 46 19 18 79 15. E-mail: Bengt.Sunnerstam{at}telia.com.
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, October 1999, p. 3328-3331, Vol. 37, No. 10
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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