Connect Sign InTest Utilization: Improving Ordering Practices for the Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori
Helicobacter pylori infects half of the world’s population and is a major gastric pathogen associated with multiple gastric illnesses, including gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, and gastric cancer. The field of H. pylori diagnostics and treatment has evolved rapidly in the past decade, leading to updated management guidelines from both the American Gastroenterology Association and American College of Gastroenterology. This lecture will discuss the tests available for H. pylori diagnostics, and outline the tests that are useful for establishing diagnosis and those that are not recommended. Additionally, the specific guidelines will be outlined for test-and-treat strategies for management of H. pylori-associated disease.
Dr. Couturier is the medical director of Microbial Immunology and the assistant medical director of Parasitology and Fecal Testing and Infectious Disease Rapid Testing at ARUP. He is also an assistant professor of pathology at the University Of Utah School Of Medicine. Dr. Couturier received his PhD in medical microbiology and immunology with specialty in bacteriology from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He served as a research associate/postdoctoral fellow at the Alberta Provincial Laboratory for Public Health and completed a medical microbiology fellowship (ABMM) at the University of Utah. His research interests include Helicobacter pylori diagnostics and population prevalence, in particular identifying populations with increased risk of infection and reduced access to medical care. Dr. Couturier also has a research focus aimed at developing improved diagnostics for emerging agents of infectious gastroenteritis. He is board certified in medical microbiology, and a member of the American Society for Microbiology and Infectious Disease Society of America.
