Quartero AO, Numans ME, De Melker RA, De Wit NJ. In practice evaluation of whole blood Helicobacter pylori test: its usefulness in detecting peptic ulcer disease. Br J Gen Prac 2000;50:13.
This is a study carried out in primary care to evaluate the effectiveness of a near-patient serological test. Unfortunately the BM test used, which is identical to Helisal often used in GP based Helicobacter clinics in the UK, was shown to have limited diagnostic value for detecting peptic ulcer disease. A high number of false negatives (61.8 per cent) were obtained in a sample of 171 primary care dyspepsia patients selected for open-access endoscopy.
What's in the medical press? - The rapidly changing situation in primary care means that it is often difficult to keep up to date with what is happening politically and clinically. This section of Primary Care Pharmacy will try to pick out a few articles that may be useful in day-to-day practice or have importance for the primary care role.