Question

Testing for IgG and IgM antibodies can help determine whether an infection is acute, chronic or from the past. Explain and justify the proper collection of a serological specimen for H. pylori testing. Why is it important to know the patient history and how might this influence the interpretation of the results?

Answer 1

Serological testing used to test H.pylori infection as an initial investigation for many conditions.
The specimen containers should be labeled with patient name, date and health card number. To prevent error result because fibrin presence, make sure complete clot formation take place before the centrifugation of samples. Use blood clotted vacutainer tubes and keep the specimen in a biohazard bag and transfer to the public health lab on ice packs. PHL testing menu should include referred physician name, patient history, test reason, and reason.
Test results will be informed to the physician office if the presence of IgG antibodies to H.pylori or negative values. diagnosis can not be made with this single test it also needs another diagnostic procedure.
Collect patient history for the previous infection before the test because they provide reliable information of patient current, past infection. antibodies can stay a long time after an infection, it does not mean a positive serologic test not associated with active infection. The serological test depends on technology.prevelance of H.pylori infection and pretest probability can cause positive or negative predictive values. when the H.pylori infection pretest probability low, there will be negative predictive values and there may be false-positive results. In just opposite high prevalence and pretest probability case there will be positive predictive value and high false-negative results. In case the patient had a history of gastric ulcer there will be a high pretest probability of infection we can initiate treatment. so negative tests can show false negative and it must need a confirmation test to find out the active infection. antibody alone can not confirm the eradication, some positive antibody test becomes negative after some months and there will be good outcomes, serological testing useful when pretest probability high in case of active infection.