Urea Breath Test - More Information

The H. pylori breath test, also known as a urea breath test and a BreathTek™ UBIT® test, checks for H. pylori infections using the breath.

During this urea breath test, you will breathe into a small collection bag to establish a baseline breath sample. Then, you will drink a special solution and breathe into another collection bag. If you have an H. pylori infection, the bacteria will break down the solution that you drank and special forms of carbon dioxide produced by this process can be measured through the breath testing process. The whole procedure typically takes under thirty minutes. It is recommended that you have not taken antibiotics for two weeks prior to the test. If you have undergone H. pylori eradication therapy, it is recommended that you wait four weeks before getting this test.

This H. pylori breath test demonstrated 95.2% sensitivity and 89.7% specificity when compared with endoscopy. It is FDA approved. Prior to the breath tests, fasting is recommended for one hour. Also, the urea breath test uses a small amount of aspartame sweetener. People who have restrictions on phenylalanine in their diet (e.g. people with phenylketonuria) should not undergo this test.

To get an H. pylori breath test near you, order online and get the breath test done at the Quest Diagnostics lab that you selected. Once your H. pylori breath test lab report is ready, you will be able to download it electronically. As can be seen on the sample H. pylori breath test lab results above, a negative result is typically reported as not detected.

Some people prefer the H. pylori stool test as an alternative to the urea breath test because they cannot perform the breath test or prefer the stool testing process. However, the H. pylori breath test is considered quite reliable.