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An ELISA system, using an acid extractable cell surface C. pylori antigen, has been used to detect anti-C. pylori antibodies in 176 endoscoped patients. The antibody concentration was related to histological diagnosis and colonisation with Campylobacter-like organisms. The criteria for sero-positivity was determined from the median antibody concentration in a group of 368 non-endoscoped control patients. The specificity and sensitivity of the sero-diagnostic assay for histological gastritis in antral biopsies was 83.0% and 95.6% respectively. The positive (79.3%) and negative predictive values (94.3%) indicate that such a sero-diagnostic assay could be used to screen patients prior to endoscopy.
Newell et al. (1988) studied this question.