ABSTRACT
Background information Helicobacter pylori is a ubiquitous organism that causes infections that are asymptomatic, and with no specific clinical signs and symptoms. Various diagnostic tests for H. pylori have been developed. This study was intended to understand the prevalence of H. pylori among suspected peptic ulcer patients in a tertiary medical facility in Port Harcourt. Methodology The ninety-eight (98) patients who consented were properly instructed before being given a capsule containing urea. This was swallowed with 50mls of water and they waited for ten minutes, after which, they breathed into a breath card until the indicator changed colour from orange to yellow. The breath card was then inserted into a device which detects the production or otherwise of the carbon dioxide with isotopically labelled carbon by displaying positive if present or negative if absent.Result In this study, out of the forty-five male and fifty-three female subjects that participated in this study, a study prevalence of 39.8% was observed. Also, a male to female prevalence ratio of 15.3:24.5 was observed with no statistical significance (X2=0.1519, P=0.6911). Similarly, the age group distribution of H. pylori infection among the male population showed age group 41-50 years as the modal (11.6%) prevalence, followed by age group 51-60 years (9.3%) with P>0.05 (X2=3.478, P=0.7470). In the same vein, the female distribution of H. pylori infection revealed that there was no significance among the different study groups with P>0.05 (X2=3.115, P=0.7943) and age group 31-40 years (16.1%) had the modal prevalence. Conclusion The high incidence of H. pylori infection among suspected peptic ulcer patients in Port Harcourt has been established, though not as high as other studies elsewhere. Therefore, public enlightenment should be encouraged by all public health stakeholders to arrest this trend