How is the breath test performed?

Before the test is performed, a so-called basal value is taken. This means that the affected person exhales into a bag until it is no longer possible. The values obtained in this way are later used for comparison.

The patient then swallows urea marked with the 13C isotope. Usually 75mg of this isotope are dissolved in 200ml orange juice. When the patient has drunk the solution, he has to wait 30 minutes and then exhale again into a bag.

If there is an infection with Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium splits the urea. This produces, among other things, marked carbon dioxide, which can then be detected in the air we breathe. The Helicobacter pylori breath test is too complex to be carried out independently at home. This would lead to false results. In rare cases, the fruit juice can also cause allergic reactions, so the test is always carried out by a doctor.

Do I need to prepare for the Helicobacter breath test?

It is especially important to note that you should come to the breath test on an empty stomach. This means that you should only eat light food in the evening of the previous day and should not drink any carbonated beverages. At least six hours before the test you must then completely abstain from food, drinks and cigarettes in order not to falsify the test.

If you are taking antibiotics, they must be discontinued about four weeks before the test. If you are taking proton pump inhibitors, such as Pantoprazole or Omeprazole, you should stop taking them two weeks before the test. Otherwise the breath test would most likely be false negative or falsified.

How is the breath test evaluated?

If a Helicobacter pylori infection is present, 13CO2 is exhaled and can be measured with special methods. If there is no infestation with the bacterium, only normal exhaled air is found. It is important to note that an infection with the bacterium does not allow the detection of a disease at the same time.

Many healthy people are also carriers of Helicobacter pylori without showing symptoms of a Helicobacter pylori infection.So if the infestation of the stomach is proven, this is not enough for a possible therapy planning, but a further diagnosis must be made to detect ulcers or cancer. The Helicobacter pylori breath test has always shown good results in clinical studies. It also recognizes 100% of healthy people as being healthy and shows a negative test result in these.

This means that if you do not have a negative test result, but a positive one, then you are most likely infected with Helicobacter pylori. The infection can thus be confirmed. The breath test itself only takes about 30-40 minutes. The measured samples from the breath are sent in for analysis. The result of the analysis is available after two to three days.