Ammonia breath test studies
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An evaluation of use of ammonia breath testing (ABT) in the clinical diagnosis of Helicobacter Pylori infection (HP).
IRAS ID
201267
Contact name
Frank Kvasnik
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 0 days
Research summary
Helicobacter Pylori (HP) is bacteria living in stomach. It causes peptic ulcers, chronic inflammation of the stomach lining, and stomach cancer. Its detection is an essential part of current clinical practices that are concerned with digestive system and its disorders. \n\nMany methods exist for the detection of HP infection, but the standard, and most commonly used, is the rapid urease (biological compound that speeds up chemical reactions) test, also known as CLO test. This test is based on the ability of HP to secrete the urease, which will split urea (organic compound important for life-sustaining chemical transformations within the cells of living organisms) into carbon dioxide and ammonia gases. CLO test is performed during gastroscopy, whereby a small sample of lining of the stomach is taken and analysed.\n\nA few methods exist for the non-invasive detection of HP infection. The standard, and most commonly used, is C13 (a rare, but natural isotope of carbon) urea breath test. There is no urease in uninfected humans, and hence the detection of urease activity is an indication of HP infection. If a person is given a small amount of urea by mouth, and the urea is labelled with C13, the carbon dioxide that is produced by urease is also labelled with C13. It can now be distinguished from the “normal” carbon dioxide and hence leads to identification of HP infected individuals. This is the basis of the Urea Breath Test (UBT), currently used around the world. Expensive (and slow) analysers, such as infrared spectrometers, are required (together with specially produced labelled urea) for the detection of labelled carbon dioxide.\n\nAn innovative approach is to detect the ammonia (rather than the labelled carbon dioxide) in the breath. This is the new ammonia breath test (ABT). New, specific, “sniffing” instruments, such as those used in alcohol meters, permit quick and accurate measurement of gases in breath. A low-cost instrument has been developed by SensAm that can be used to detect ammonia in the breath. This initial study will look at the performance of the new ABT on infected subjects where the infections has been determined using the standard CLO test.\n
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/NW/0132
Date of REC Opinion
11 Apr 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion