Carbon-14 Urea Breath Tests 

This test is designed to detect the presence of Helicobacter Pylori, which is a bacterium in the upper digestive tract. This test is used for:

• Assessment of suspected Helicobacter Pylori infection
• Post-treatment evaluation of infection level

At your appointment you will meet a member of the Nuclear Medicine Physics team, and will be asked to drink a glass of water containing 14C-labelled urea, which you will not be able to taste. The 14C-labelled urea is deconjugated by the bacterium into 14CO2, which will be present in the carbon dioxide you exhale. Ten minutes after drinking the water, you will be asked to exhale through tubing into a vial as shown in the photograph. This will be repeated for a second vial until 1 mmol of exhaled CO2 has been collected in each. Following the test, the level of 14C in the vial can be measured, proving the presence or absence of the bacterium.

Equipment for breathing into vial to collect exhaled CO₂ for C-14 urea breath test.

For more information see Related Documents section (File NM3.doc)