Nigerian Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Vol.3 Nos. 1&2 June & Dec., 2011 31-38 COMPARATIVESTUDYOFMETHODSOFDIAGNOSIS OFHELICOBACTERPYLORI INFECTIONIN IBADAN,NIGERIA AbideenOOluwasola 1 *,ClementAOkolo 1 ,JesseAOtegbayo 2 ,Bolanle Adeniyi 3 ,AderemiOKehinde 4 ,AdegboyegaAkere 2 ,SamuelOOla 2 , TemitopeOLawal 3 ,PhilipA Idowu 3 ,GeorginaOdaibo 5 andAliyuILawan 1 1 Departments of Pathology, 2 Medicine, 3 Pharmaceutical Microbiology, 4 Medical Microbiology , and 5 Virology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan. Correspondence Address: Dr A O Oluwasola, Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, PMB 5116, Ibadan, Nigeria E-mail: oluwasol@yahoo.com ABSTRACT Background&Objective: Diagnostic tests currently in use for the detection of Helicobacter pylori have been classified into either non-invasive or invasive categories, with each having its merits and demerits, as well as superiority over the other depending on the clinical setting. This study compared the accuracy of the urea breath test, histology, serology and stool antigen assay using culture as the gold standard in the diagnosis in our clinical setting. Method: Blood, stool, fibre-optic endoscopic gastric biopsies and breath were tested in 52 consenting dyspeptic patients for the detection of H. pylori infection. Results: The Negative Predictive Values, Positive Predictive Values and the diagnostic accuracy obtained were 40%, 73.7%, 47.1%; 8.3% 80.6%, 62.5%; 12.5%, 94.1%, 68%; and 30%, 93.8%, 69% for Faecal antigen test, Serology, Histology and Urea breath test respectively. Conclusion: Our findings show that histology is reliable for definitive diagnosis of H. pylori infection in dyspeptic patients in our setting and where facilities are available; UBT can be used as a non-invasive method of assessment of eradication of infection. Keywords: Comparison, diagnostic method, Helicobacter pylori 10% of the world’s population 3, 4 and life time prevalence of 10-20% in H. pylori positive individuals. 5 H.pylori is the most important aetiological agent in chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer disease. Its long-term chronic infection has been postulated to have a very strong aetiological role in gastric carcinoma and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) gastric INTRODUCTION Helicobacter pylori(H. Pylori) is a spiral-shaped, gram-negative, micro-aerophilic flagellate bacterium found in the mucosa of the stomach especially in the gastric antrum. 1 It is one of the commonest bacterial infections in humans affecting nearly 50% of the world’s population 2 with a lifetime prevalence of 5- 31