Jenny lauper

Need and procedures for Urea breath test

The 13C Urea Breath Test is a well established method to detect H. pylori and is highly endorsed by different gastroenterology and medical societies as the test of choice for initial detection as well as for post-treatment testing

Urea breath test is a medical procedure that physicians use to calculate the concentration of carbon dioxide detected in the breath of a patient. The test is base upon the ability of the bacterium H. pylori to convert Urea in to carbon dioxide.

 Need for the test

1. Urea breath test is used to detect the presence of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori   in the stomach.
2. The particular test is also used to identify infections in the stomach.
3. Finally, the same Urea breath test is used to ascertain if medication has been able to eliminate h pylori infection.
4. The Urea breath test is so competent that it prevents the unnecessary use of antibiotics for stomach related ailments. Such medications might make the bacterium resistant to the treatment and cause problems in case of infection.

Procedure for the test

1. Preparation of the patient
1. The patient is kept off certain medications that might suppress the action of Helicobacter pylori. These are usually antibiotics containing Bismuth compounds.
2. Patients are not fed with mouth for six hours before the test.
3. Patient’s medical history is obtained to decide on the medications.

1. Procedure for the test
1. The patient is given balloons to collect sample of their breath before the actual procedure starts.
2. Urea capsules containing radio active carbon 14 or no radioactive carbon 13 is given with lukewarm water to the patient.
3. Another breath sample gets collected after the capsules have been administered.
4. Samples are collected at different times which are at a gap of about every twenty minutes.

1. Identification of the infection

               The percentage of infection in Urea breath test is calculated by computing the difference in the amount of carbon dioxide present in the breath of the patient at different stages of the test. Since H pylori has the ability to convert Urea in to carbon dioxide so, the greater the amount of carbon dioxide in the breath more is the extent of infection by H. pylori.

There are certain precautions that are to be taken before the Urea breath test is conducted. One such precaution is to make sure that the patient is not administered any antibiotics at least two weeks before the test. The Breath collected should not get exposed to any type of contamination as this would produce error in the test readings.

Article Tags: Urea Breath Test, Urea Breath, Breath Test, Carbon Dioxide

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