Diagnostic tests for Helicobacter pylori: a prospective evaluation of their accuracy, without selecting a single test as the gold standard.

Abstract

All antral biopsy-based tests, as well as the 13C-urea breath test, are accurate for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection. Sampling error is a problem of minor importance. The lower specificity of serological tests may be largely explained by previous treatment of H. pylori.