Scope test
This test checks your upper digestive system. It’s also called an upper endoscopy exam. Your healthcare professional may recommend it to check on symptoms that may be caused by a peptic ulcer or gastritis. These and certain other conditions can stem from H. pylori infections.
For this exam, you’re given medicine to help you relax. Then, your healthcare professional threads a camera attached to a long, flexible tube down your throat and esophagus. This tool is called an endoscope.
The endoscope goes into your stomach and the first part of the intestine, called the duodenum. It lets your healthcare professional view any issues in your upper digestive tract. Your healthcare professional also might use the endoscope to take tissue samples. This is called a biopsy. These samples are checked by a lab for an H. pylori infection.
An upper endoscopy is more invasive than a breath or stool test. So it’s often not used to diagnose an H. pylori infection alone. Healthcare professionals may use an upper endoscopy for further testing and to look for other digestive conditions. They also can use this test to figure out exactly which antibiotic is best to treat H. pylori infection, especially if the first antibiotics tried didn’t get rid of the infection.
This test may need to be done again after treatment for an H. pylori infection. It depends on what is found at the first endoscopy or if your symptoms continue after treatment.