There are a number of ways to diagnose H. pylori in your stomach, including:
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Blood Antibody Tests – A small sample of your blood is drawn and sent to a laboratory for analysis. Blood tests, however, detect past infections in addition to currently active ones. This means a positive result from a blood test may not necessarily indicate that you are currently infected; only that you may have been infected in the past. A false positive result can sometimes lead to unnecessary treatment.
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Endoscopy – A tube coupled with a small camera is inserted into your mouth, down your esophagus, and into your stomach. Tissue samples, taken from a few places on the lining of your stomach, are extracted for analysis. Endoscopy is rarely done to test for H. pylori alone, but it is used to identify or rule out other illnesses, such as stomach inflammation and cancer. The procedure is invasive, requires a local anesthetic, and often requires patients to miss a day of work.
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Urea Breath Test – This test is a noninvasive and effective method for diagnosing H. pylori; it is often the preferred testing method of physicians and medical associations and physicians. With the Urea Breath Test, the patient drinks a solution containing 13C or 14C marked Urea, a non-radioactive stable isotope. If H. pylori is present, 13CO2 or 14CO2 will be released into the bloodstream and carried to the lungs, where it will be exhaled by the patient. Special equipment analyzes the exhaled samples to determine if H. pylori is present.
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Stool Antigen Test - This laboratory test can detect foreign proteins (antigens) in a stool sample, including those that are associated with H. pylori infection. Stool samples are unpleasant and inconvenient. In addition, results are not immediately known, thus requiring more than one visit to the physician.
Urea Breath Test
is recommended as a preferred non-invasive testing method for diagnosis, as well as for follow-up testing after treatment. See the Guideline Recommendations section for more details.