Can Helicobacter pylori be detected by blood draw? How to detect Helicobacter pylori?

Helicobacter pylori, also known as Helicobacter pylori, is usually detected when checking for stomach diseases. For example, gastroscopy is one of the ways to check, and there is also a breath test. Blood drawing is a relatively new method, so can blood drawing detect Helicobacter pylori?

Can Helicobacter pylori be detected by blood draw?

There are many clinical examination methods for Helicobacter pylori, such as carbon 13 or carbon 14 breath test; taking biopsy specimens through gastroscopy and performing rapid urease test; blood test for Helicobacter pylori antibodies is one of the methods.

Helicobacter pylori can be detected by blood test, but the positive Helicobacter pylori antibody test in serum only indicates that the patient has been infected before, and it is unknown whether the patient has the infection now. Since my country uses a lot of antibiotics, many people may have used anti-infection drugs such as amoxicillin and ofloxacin for treatment, and they may also have been infected with Helicobacter pylori in the past.

Therefore, it cannot reflect the real-time infection status of Helicobacter pylori, because it takes six months for serum antibodies to decrease and disappear after Helicobacter pylori is eradicated. Serum anti-Helicobacter pylori antibody test can be used as a screening or epidemiological survey for Helicobacter pylori.

When checking for Helicobacter pylori for the first time, there is generally a requirement to check on an empty stomach. In this case, fasting means not eating or drinking any water. If you drink anything, the test results will be inaccurate. Therefore, when you are checking for Helicobacter pylori, you must ask clearly what the test method is, so as to avoid inaccurate results.

How to check Helicobacter pylori

There are two main types of Helicobacter pylori testing: invasive and non-invasive.

1. Non-invasive method: commonly known as breath test, it is currently the most commonly used method for detecting Helicobacter pylori in clinical practice, mainly based on C13 and C14. This method does not rely on gastroscopy, so it is easily accepted by more patients. Moreover, C13 and C14 have high detection accuracy and low price, and are one of the gold standards for Helicobacter pylori detection.

The 13C or 14C breath test is a test method that can indicate HP infection. If the result is positive, it indicates that HP must be present in the patient's stomach. It is recommended to do a 13C or 14C breath test to confirm whether the patient is infected with Helicobacter pylori.

2. Invasive methods: mainly include rapid urease test, gastric mucosal tissue section staining microscopy and bacterial culture, among which gastric mucosal staining microscopy is one of the gold standards for detecting Helicobacter pylori. Bacterial culture is mainly used in scientific research.

Through gastroscopy, a biopsy specimen is taken for rapid urease test to determine whether Helicobacter pylori exists in the stomach. This method can clearly diagnose whether there is Helicobacter pylori infection. However, because it is an invasive method and requires gastroscopy, many people are reluctant to accept it.

In addition, there is the blood test method mentioned above.

Another thing to note is that before conducting a Helicobacter pylori test, you must stop taking omeprazole for more than one month, otherwise it will easily affect the test results.

How to prevent Helicobacter pylori

Helicobacter pylori is an acid-resistant, drug-resistant, negative bacillus that exists in the human upper digestive tract. It is the main pathogenic factor causing chronic gastritis, gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer, gastric polyps, and gastric lymphoma.

Helicobacter pylori is mainly transmitted through close contact, sharing of tableware, drinking cups, etc.

For those who suffer from chronic gastritis, gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer and other gastric diseases combined with Helicobacter pylori infection, triple or quadruple therapy should be used to kill Helicobacter pylori, and they should pay attention to personal hygiene in daily life, use tableware and water cups exclusively, do not take the initiative to pick up food for others or feed children with your mouth, avoid intimate behaviors such as kissing, rinse your mouth after meals or brush your teeth before going to bed.

Regularly boiling and disinfecting items such as tableware and water cups, regularly changing rags, and keeping the refrigerator clean and hygienic can reduce the chance of contamination by Helicobacter pylori.

When eating out, try not to eat at roadside stalls or restaurants with poor hygiene conditions, and try not to eat leftovers. If you want to eat, you should reheat them or sterilize them in a microwave oven. Avoid infection with Helicobacter pylori, which may induce chronic gastritis, gastric ulcers and other stomach diseases.

In short, as long as you pay attention to food hygiene and avoid bad living habits, you can reduce the spread of Helicobacter pylori.