Background: Children's gastrointestinal problems are frequently caused by Helicobacter pylori infections. A non-invasive method of diagnosing H. pylori infection is stool antigen testing.
Aim of the study: to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of stool antigen tests in children and their correlation to upper endoscopy and gastric mucosal biopsies.
Methodology: Children and adolescents with persistent or recurring unexplained dyspeptic symptoms and/or non-variceal hematemesis were the subjects of this cross-sectional investigation. The study was conducted over one year, from June 2023 to June 2024, and participants were recruited from the Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Endoscopy Unit at Assiut University Children's Hospital.
Results: Based on the histology of the stomach biopsy, patients were divided into two groups: 19 (30.2%) were H. pylori-negative, and 44 (69.8%) were H. pylori-positive. There were 33.3% males and 66.7% females, with an average age of 8.43±2.9 years. The most prevalent symptom in H. pylori-positive cases was epigastric pain, and the two most important endoscopic findings were antral nodularity and nodular duodenal bulb. The stool antigen test demonstrated 91% sensitivity, 95% specificity, and 92% accuracy. Infected cases with stool antigen-positive results and moderate-to-severe H. pylori colonization density were significantly correlated.
Conclusion: The H. pylori stool antigen test is a reliable, cost-effective, and non-invasive diagnostic test for detecting H. pylori infection in children, owing to its high sensitivity and specificity.