Helicobacter pylori Diagnostic Tests Used in Europe: Results of over 34,000 Patients from the European Registry on Helicobacter pylori Management

Natalia García-Morales, Ángeles Pérez-Aísa, Giulia Fiorini, Bojan Tepes, Manuel Castro-Fernández, Alfredo Lucendo, Irina Voynovan, Luis Bujanda, Ana Garre, Luis Rodrigo, Samuel Jesús Martínez Domínguez, Maja Denkovski, Jose M. Huguet Malavés, Laimas Jonaitis, Renate Bumane, Oleg Zaytsev, Pilar Mata Romero, Jesús Barrio, Luis Fernández-Salazar, Aiman Silkanovna SarsenbaevaInmaculada Ortiz Polo, Sergey Alekseenko, Ilaria Maria Saracino, Dino Vaira, Alma Keco-Huerga, Dmitry Bordin, Antonio Gasbarrini, Frode Lerang, Theodore Rokkas, Juozas Kupčinskas, Marcis Leja, Gulustan Babayeva, Ricardo Marcos Pinto, Ante Tonkić, Sinead Smith, Perminder Phull, Gyorgy M. Buzas, Halis Simsek, Doron Boltin, Oleksiy Gridnyev, Marino Venerito, Vladimir Milivojevic, Núria Torà, Anna Cano-Català, Leticia Moreira, Olga P. Nyssen*, Francis Mégraud, Colm O’Morain, Javier P. Gisbert, Ignasi Puig, Hp-EuReg Investigators

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

Background and aims: Several methods are available to diagnose Helicobacter pylori infection. Our objective was to evaluate the tests used for both the initial diagnosis and the confirmation of eradication after treatment in Europe. Methods: The European Registry on the management of Helicobacter pylori infection is an international, multicentre, prospective, non-interventional registry aiming to evaluate the management of Helicobacter pylori-infected patients in Europe. Countries with at least 100 cases registered from June 2013 to April 2021, and with a validated diagnostic method were analysed. Data were quality reviewed. Results: A total of 34,920 adult patients from 20 countries were included (mean age 51 years; 61% women). To establish the initial diagnosis, invasive tests were performed in 19,801 (71%) patients, non-invasive in 11,369 (41%), and both in 3437 (12%). The most frequent were histology (n = 11,885; 43%), a rapid urease test (n = 10,636; 38%) and an urea breath test (n = 7577; 27%). According to the age, invasive tests were indicated in 11,179 (77%) ≥50 years, and in 8603 (65%) <50 years. Depending on the country, the use of invasive tests ranged from 29–99% in <50 years to 60–99% in ≥50. Most of the tests used to confirm eradication were non-invasive (n = 32,540; 93%), with the urea breath test being the most frequent (n = 32,540; 78%). In 2983 (9%) post-treatment tests, histology (n = 1887; 5%) or a rapid urease test (n = 1223; 4%) were performed. Conclusion: A great heterogeneity was observed for the initial diagnosis and confirmation of the eradication. The reasons for the apparent lack of adherence to the clinical guidelines should be further explored.

Original languageEnglish
Article number4363
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Clinical Medicine
Volume12
Issue number13
Early online date28 Jun 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This study was funded by Richen; however, clinical data were not accessible and the company was not involved in any stage of the Hp-EuReg study (design, data collection, statistical analysis, or manuscript writing). We want to thank Richen for their support. This project was promoted and funded by the European Helicobacter and Microbiota Study Group (EHMSG), the Spanish Association of Gastroenterology (AEG) and the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd). The Hp-EuReg was co-funded by the European Union programme HORIZON (grant agreement number 101095359) and supported by the UK Research and Innovation (grant agreement number 10058099). The Hp-EuReg was co-funded by the European Union programme EU4Health (grant agreement number 101101252).

Acknowledgments
We want to especially thank Sylva-Astrik Torossian for her assistance in language editing. Natalia García Morales is the first author who is acting as the submission’s guarantor. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.

Data Availability Statement

All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as Supplementary Information. The data supporting the conclusions of this study are not publicly available, as their content may compromise the privacy of research participants. However, previous published data on the Hp-EuReg study, or de-identified raw data referring to current study, as well as further information on the methods used to explore the data could be shared, with no particular time constraint. Individual participant data will not be shared.

Keywords

  • diagnostic tests
  • gastrointestinal endoscopy
  • Helicobacter pylori
  • histology
  • urea breath test

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