Breath Test for H.pylori Receives FDA Approval for use in Children

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first breath test for use in children ages 3 – 17 to detect Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) bacterial infections. The BreathTek UBT test was cleared for adult use in 1996.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that approximately two thirds of the world’s population is infected with H.pylori. Most people with this infection never have any symptoms but have a two- to six-fold increased risk of developing gastric cancer and mucosal-associated lymphoid type lymphoma compared with uninfected people.

“Results from this test, when considered with a physician’s assessment of the patient’s history, other risk factors, and professional guidelines, can quickly indicate infection, which allows a physician to initiate appropriate health measures in a timely manner,” said Alberto Gutierrez, Ph.D., director of the Office of In Vitro Diagnostic Device
Evaluation and Safety in FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.

The FDA based its approval of the BreathTek UBT test for children on a multi-center study of 176 patients, comparing its performance to a composite reference method and demonstrating 95.8 percent sensitivity and 99.2 percent specificity. An additional study was done at 1 to 6 months after therapy to support use for post-treatment monitoring of patients. The sensitivity was 83.3 percent and the specificity was 100 percent.

The test can be carried out at a laboratory, or in a physician’s office at the point-of-care. BreathTek UBT is manufactured by Otsuka America Pharmaceutical based in Rockville, Md.