Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection in children: comparison of a salivary immunoglobulin G antibody test with the [(13)C]urea breath test.

The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in a population-based sample of 477 children (mean age plus minus standard deviation, 5.8 plus minus 0.5 years) determined by the [(13)C]urea breath test ([(13)C]UBT) was 10.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.1 to 13.8%), and that determined by salivary enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was 11.9% (95% CI, 9.2 to 15.2%). Compared to the [(13)C]UBT, the sensitivity and specificity of the salivary ELISA were 80.9% (95% CI, 66.3 to 90.4%) and 95.3% (95% CI, 92.7 to 97.1%), respectively.