Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium found in the stomach that can cause various types of pathology, such as chronic gastritis and stomach ulcers. 1-2% of infected people may develop stomach cancer. Therefore, it is important to know whether a patient with a specific gastrointestinal complaint has this infection. The most common signs of H.pylori infection are weight loss, bloating, frequent belching, abdominal pain, burning sensation, nausea, and loss of appetite.
H.pylori infection can be detected by non-invasive methods such as breath tests, detection of antibodies in the blood and detection of antigens in the faeces, as well as by invasive mucosal sampling during endoscopy.

A positive 13C urea breath test indicates the presence of Helicobacter pylori in the stomach. It is very specific and sensitive – it is considered to be among the best diagnostic methods for H. pylori for both initial diagnosis and follow-up testing after bacterial eradication therapy. This test is non-toxic to the human body, it is non-radioactive and non-invasive, so it can be performed on children, pregnant women and people with a weakened immune system.

The test requires the person to exhale two times into special bags, performed at half-hour intervals;

It is recommended that the test be performed in the morning on an empty stomach, preferably at least 6 hours before the test.

Before the breath test: antibiotics should not be used for 1 month and proton pump inhibitors (such as omeprazole, esomeprazole, rabeprazole, etc.) should not be used for 2 weeks before the test.

The test kit can be purchased at E. Gulbja laboratorija service centers or paid for online and received at non-contact testing sites. The price of the test is EUR 50.

The breath test sample set includes:
1. 00-Minute Breath bag – Initial exhalation collection bag;
2. 30-Minutes Breath bag – second exhalation (after taking Urea 13C and citric acid solution) collection bag;
3. a bottle of Urea 13C 75 mg (dilute in 80 ml of drinking water);
4. citric acid powder 1.4 g (dilute in a glass of drinking water).

The sequence for performing the H. pylori 13C urea breath test is specified in the package insert.

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