Impact of COVID-19 on the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori

In 2020, due to the state of alarm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the detection of Helicobacter pylori infection by breath test was considerably reduced for reasons of biosafety against the coronavirus. For this reason, the prescription of the stool antigen test has increased, both for the initial detection of Helicobacter pylori infection and for monitoring after eradication treatment. The tool considered Gold Standard for the detection of Helicobacter pylori both at the beginning and after eradication treatment is the breath test. This is based on the detection of the bacterium through its ability to degrade urea thanks to its enzyme urease. It consists of an initial basal breath test before the administration of a 13C-labeled urea tablet and another after 20 minutes to detect 13CO2 produced by the bacterium's urease.