Improving the success of culturing Helicobacter pylori from gastric biopsies

Factors influencing the successful isolation of Helicobacter pylori from human gastric biopsies were studied. Within 24 h, each of the gastric biopsies was inoculated onto chocolate blood agar media and incubated for up to 2 weeks. Among 63 (70%) culture positive cases in 90 patients, 58 (64%) cases were culture positive for both specimens, while five (6%) cases were culture positive in only one biopsy. Of the 63 positive cultures, 51 H. pylori strains (81%) grew on both media with and without antibiotics. Eight strains (13%) grew only on medium without antibiotics, while four isolates (6%) were obtained only from medium with antibiotics. These results support the previous histological observation of patchy colonization of H. pylori in the stomach. The success rate for culture of H. pylori from gastric biopsies increased when two biopsies were taken and inoculated on chocolate blood agar media with and without antibiotics.