Gut Liver.  2024 Jan;18(1):60-69. 10.5009/gnl220464.

Utilization of an Automated Latex Agglutination Turbidity Assay for Assessing Gastric Mucosal Alteration during Helicobacter pylori Infection

• Khangai A
• Akada J
• Saruuljavkhlan B
• Gantuya B
• Azzaya D
• Oyuntsetseg K
• Davaadorj D
• Uchida T
• Matsumoto T
• Yamaoka Y

• KMID: 2551035
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5009/gnl220464

Abstract

Background/Aims
A latex agglutination turbidity (LA) assay to test for serum antibodies has been approved in Japan and Korea for mass screening of Helicobacter pylori infection. In this study, we evaluated the LA assay for diagnosing H. pylori infection and predicting gastric mucosal changes in a Mongolian population.
Methods
In total, 484 individuals were classified into H. pylori-positive (n=356) and H. pylorinegative (n=128) groups, as determined by histology and H. pylori culture.
Results
The best cutoff, sensitivity, and specificity values for the LA assay were 18.35 U/mL, 74.2%, and 65.6%, respectively. The LA values in the atrophic gastritis group were statistically higher than those in the other groups (healthy, chronic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, and gastric cancer, p<0.0001). The cutoff value to distinguish the atrophic gastritis group from the other four groups was 32.0 U/mL, and its area under the curve was 0.673, which was the highest among the E-plate, pepsinogen (PG) I, PG II, and PG I/II ratio tests in our data. The odds ratios for atrophic gastritis determined by the LA assay and PG I test in multiple logistic regression were 2.5 and 1.9, respectively, which were significantly higher than for the other tests.
Conclusions
The LA assay can determine the risk of atrophic gastritis, which in turn is a considerable risk factor for gastric cancer. We propose using this assay in combination with the PG I/II ratio to avoid missing gastric cancer patients who have a low LA value (less than 32.0 U/mL).

Keyword

Helicobacter pylori; Latex agglutination test; E-plate; Atrophic gastritis; Mongolia