^14C-urea breath test in patients undergoing anti-tuberculosis therapy
摘要
AIM: Urea breath test (UBT) is a non-invasive diagnostic test for detecting the presence of Helicobacter pylori(H pylori).In this study we evaluated the effect of anti-tuberculosis therapy on the results of 14C-UBT.METHODS: Patients, with the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) who had a positive UBT at the point of starting antiTB therapy, were included. None had a history of peptic ulcer disease or had taken antibiotics, bismuth compounds and/or PPI in the previous month, 14C-UBT was repeated at the end of the second month and the end of treatment period and one month after completion of treatment course.RESULTS: Thirty-five patients (23 males) were enrolled.14C-UBT was negative in all 35 patients (100%) at the end of the second month and remained negative in 30cases (85.7%) at the end of the treatment course. One month after completion of treatment course, UBT remained negative in 13 patients (37.1%).CONCLUSION: Our report underscores the need for caution while interpreting urea breath test results in patients undergoing anti-TB therapy. Furthermore, the combination of drugs used in this study resulted in H pylori eradication in a minority of patients.