Can a Gastroscope Detect Helicobacter Pylori?

A gastroscope can indeed be used to detect Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), but it is important to understand that the bacteria themselves are too small to be seen directly during the procedure. Instead, doctors typically take a biopsy sample through the endoscope to test for the presence of the bacteria. There are three primary methods used for detecting H. pylori infection:

1. Rapid Urease Test: This test relies on the urease enzyme produced by H. pylori. When the biopsy tissue is placed in a special solution, the enzyme breaks down urea and causes a color change, indicating a positive result for the bacteria.

2. Bacterial Culture from Biopsy: In this method, the biopsy sample is used to grow the bacteria in a laboratory setting. While this approach can confirm the presence of H. pylori, it has a relatively low success rate and requires more time, making it less common in routine clinical practice and more suitable for research purposes.

3. Histological Examination with Special Stains: The biopsy sample is sent to a pathology lab, where special staining techniques are applied to identify the presence of H. pylori under a microscope.

Despite the usefulness of endoscopy in diagnosing H. pylori, it is an invasive procedure and may sometimes yield false-negative results due to limited sampling. For routine clinical use, non-invasive methods like the carbon-13 or carbon-14 breath test are preferred. These tests are painless, quick, and highly accurate, making them the most widely used diagnostic tools for detecting H. pylori infection today.