A patient to be treated for the presence of Campylobacter pylori in the stomach and/or duodenum ingests a quantity of urea and after about 10 minutes exhales into breath collection apparatus to provide a breath sample of alveolar air, collected during the last part of the exhalation. Immediately upon issuing from the patient the expired breath is passed in contact with a preferably solid-state body of alkaline hygroscopic material, e.g. sodium hydroxide, that substantially removes water vapor from the breath but is inert to ammonia in the presence of water. The breath sample, thus dehydrated, is delivered to a sensor which signals the presence of ammonia in it, to indicate presence of C. pylori in the stomach.
To optimize the .sup.14 C-urea breath test for Helicobacter pylori (a) a collection method for alveolar breath samples, (b) varying the post-dosage breath collection time and (c) varying the concentrations of KOH in the liquid trap employed for the capture of .sup.14 CO.sub.2 are employed. Collection of alveolar breath samples in bags was convenient for user and patient. The test provided optimal sensitivity and specificity for the detection of H. pylori infection when breath collections were performed 10 min after dosage with .sup.14 C-urea, and when breath CO.sub.2 was captured in liquid traps containing 80 or 800 mM KOH.
There are described a simple examination method of infection with Helicobacter pylori possibly presenting in a gastric mucosa, and a device therefor. The examination is conducted by collecting gas in gastric cavity, and measuring mainly ammonia and additionally organic amines which are generated due to activities of the bacilli. The measurement is carried out by leading the gas in gastric cavity into oral cavity by vomiting-reflex, and sucking the gas by a metering suction pump through a gas detection tube to read-out a length of color-changed area in the gas detection tube.
A delivery system that releases a diagnostic marker or therapeutic agent in a manner sensitive to the concentration of urease in a physiological compartment, particularly the gastrointestinal tract, and methods of use.
The present invention provides a method for measuring dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in body fluids. The method can be used to measure DIC in blood, serum, plasma, urine, sweat, saliva, lacrimal fluid, and combinations thereof. The method can be used to diagnose a gastrointestinal disorder in a subject, and particularly a gastrointestinal disorder mediated by a urease producing bacterium such as Helicobacter priori.
A method and device for collecting, storing, shipping, preparing and analyzing condensate derived from the exhaled breath of a user. Using the mouthpiece (15) of the device (10), a human subject inhales drawing air through a check valve (30).
