Photo Credit: Artur Plawgo
The following is a summary of “Efficacy of B – mode and elastography ultrasound technique in the prediction of Helicobacter pylori: a prospective study,” published in the November 2024 issue of Gastroenterology by Hussein et al.
Helicobacter pylori (HP) affects nearly 50% of the world’s population and can cause inflammation and thickening of the stomach’s mucosal and submucosal layers.
Researchers conducted a prospective study to assess how B-mode ultrasonography and elastography can predict HP infection.
They involved 174 participants, divided into 3 groups, Group A (symptomatic individuals with thickened antral wall and positive HP fecal antigen test), Group B (symptomatic individuals with thickened antral wall but negative HP fecal antigen test), and Group C (asymptomatic individuals with negative HP fecal antigen test), B-mode ultrasonography. Elastography was used to predict HP infection, with the HP fecal antigen test as the gold standard.
The results showed that individuals with positive HP infection had higher values for antral wall thickness (5.57 ± 0.55 mm), mucosal layer thickness (2.96 ± 0.45 mm), mucosal-to-antral wall thickness ratio (0.53 ± 0.06), strain ratio (3.21 ± 0.43), and a combined measure of antral wall thickness and strain ratio (8.79 ± 0.68 mm) compared to individuals with negative HP infection (4.61 ± 0.47 mm, 2.05 ± 0.42 mm, 0.41 ± 0.08, 2.51 ± 0.42, and 7.13 ± 0.62 mm, respectively), and to the control group (3.53 ± 0.36 mm, 1.47 ± 0.25 mm, 0.40 ± 0.06, 1.81 ± 0.41, and 5.35 ± 0.55 mm, respectively) with a P-value of <0.001. Sensitivity for B-mode ultrasonography was 98%, for elastography 95.1%, and for the combination of both methods, 98.4%, and diagnostic accuracy was 98.4%, 98.3%, and 100%, respectively.
They concluded that B-mode ultrasonography and elastography were effective in distinguishing individuals with symptomatic HP infection from healthy individuals, with higher accuracy when both methods are used together.
Source: bmcgastroenterol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12876-024-03529-9
