“Have you eaten breakfast? Did you drink water? Are you fasting?” “Have you taken antibiotics recently?” “Come and check tomorrow morning without eating or drinking water!” Every morning from Monday to Friday, Such voices always fill the Digestion/Kidney/Blood/Rheumatology and Immunology Department of Mianzhu City People’s Hospital. If you look closely, it is the teacher of the Department of Gastroenterology who is giving health education to patients undergoing carbon-13 urea breath test.
The carbon-13 urea breath test is a medical test used to detect Helicobacter pylori. Helicobacter pylori, abbreviated as Hp, is a gram-negative bacillus with strong survivability and can survive in a strongly acidic environment. It is the only bacterium that has been found to survive in the stomach. Helicobacter pylori infection is closely related to the incidence of chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer and gastric cancer. If the infection with this bacteria can be detected early and the right medicine can be prescribed, the chances of gastrointestinal inflammation and ulcers will be reduced.
The carbon-13 urea breath test is the latest, rapid, painless and radiation-free detection technique for Helicobacter pylori. There is no need to do a gastroscope, just breathe out easily, measure the components of the breath, and immediately detect whether there is Helicobacter pylori infection. However, it is worth noting that before the carbon-13 urea breath test is performed, the patient needs to be in a fasting state, and the patient has not taken antibiotics, proton pump inhibitors, bismuth and other drugs within the past 1 month, otherwise it is easy to cause false negative results. For patients with positive carbon 13 breath test, it is necessary to properly do anti-Helicobacter pylori infection treatment under the guidance of a doctor.
(Wang Qian)