The UBiT-100 13CO2 infrared analyzer: comparison between infrared spectrometric analysis and mass spectrometric analysis.

Background: Although the 13C-urea breath test is the most accurate noninvasive method for detecting the presence of H. pylori infection, the requirement for an expensive mass spectrometer to analyze breath samples has prevented physicians from providing rapid results near the patient. Recently, a new type of infrared spectrometric analyzer, the UBiT-100, was developed for analyzing 13CO2 in breath. The purpose of this study is to compare results analyzed by the UBiT-100 to those analyzed by the mass spectrometric method.
Methods: Four hundred and fifty-three subjects participated in this study. Breath samples were collected before administration of 100 mg of 13C-urea and at 10, 20, 30, 45 and 60 min after administration. Subjects were asked to hold their breath for 10 sec and then exhale in order to collect breath samples containing more than a 2% concentration of CO2. Samples were then analyzed by both methods.
Results: The correlation analysis using values at 20 min after the administration of the study drug (433 points) was excellent with the regression equation of Y = 1.034x - 0.203; r = .996. The results of the UBiT-100 were available in 6 min, making the entire testing procedure less than 30 min.
Conclusions: The UBiT-100 infrared analyzer provides a simple and accurate method of performing the urea breath test while the patient is still in the doctor's office.