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Medical Policy

Policy Num:      11.001.006
Policy Name:    Testing for Helicobacter Pylori Infection
Policy ID:          [11.001.006]  [Ar / B / M+ / P-]  [2.04.06]

Last Review:       February 10, 2025
Next Review:      Policy Archived
 

Related Policies: None

Testing for Helicobacter Pylori Infection

Summary

Several invasive and non-invasive tests are available for the detection of Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with peptic ulcer disease for diagnosis and test-of-cure. Other circumstances that may warrant testing include a history of peptic ulcer disease and MALT lymphoma.

Policy Statements

Urea breath testing or fecal antigen testing may be considered medically necessary as part of the workup of patients with dyspeptic symptoms and suspected H. pylori.

Urea breath testing or fecal antigen testing may be considered medically necessary as part of the follow-up of patients with persistent symptoms after treatment for H. pylori infection.

1. Serologic testing for H. pylori may be considered medically necessary as part of the initial workup of a patient with newly diagnosed dyspepsia to guide appropriate empiric therapy.

2. The urea breath test or fecal antigen test may be considered investigational as part of the initial workup of a patient with newly diagnosed dyspepsia to guide appropriate empiric therapy; serologic testing is sufficient.

3. The urea breath test or fecal antigen test may be considered medically necessary as part of the initial workup in patients with a prior history of treated H. pylori infection and with recurrent symptoms.

4. The urea breath test or fecal antigen testing may be considered medically necessary as a follow-up test to determine H. pylori eradication in patients with peptic ulcer and either:

• Persistent symptoms after an initial course of anti-H. pylori therapy; or
• High-risk factors for ulcer recurrence, such as documented peptic ulcers complicated by bleeding, perforation, or obstruction.

Other indications of when the urea breath test or fecal antigen test may be considered investigational include but are not limited to:

As a routine follow-up test to determine H. pylori eradication in patients with peptic ulcer but without persistent symptoms or high-risk factors for recurrence:

• As part of the initial workup of patients with dyspepsia and at increased risk for gastric malignancy; i.e., patients over the age of 50 and those with the “alarm” symptoms of anorexia, early satiety, weight loss, anemia, or gastrointestinal bleeding; these patients are candidates for immediate endoscopy.

Policy Guidelines

1. Serologic testing for H. pylori may be considered medically necessary as part of the initial workup of a patient with newly diagnosed dyspepsia to guide appropriate empiric therapy.

2. The urea breath test or fecal antigen test may be considered not medically necessary as part of the initial workup of a patient with newly diagnosed dyspepsia to guide appropriate empiric therapy; serologic testing is sufficient.

3. The urea breath test or fecal antigen test may be considered medically necessary as part of the initial workup in patients with a prior history of treated H. pylori infection and with recurrent symptoms.

4. The urea breath test or fecal antigen testing may be considered medically necessary as a follow-up test to determine H. pylori eradication in patients with peptic ulcer and either:

•  Persistent symptoms after an initial course of anti-H. pylori therapy; or
• High-risk factors for ulcer recurrence, such as documented peptic ulcers complicated by bleeding, perforation, or obstruction.

Other indications of when the urea breath test or fecal antigen test may be considered not medically necessary include but are not limited to:

As a routine follow-up test to determine H. pylori eradication in patients with peptic ulcer but without persistent symptoms or high-risk factors for recurrence:

• As part of the initial workup of patients with dyspepsia and at increased risk for gastric malignancy; i.e., patients over the age of 50 and those with the “alarm” symptoms of anorexia, early satiety, weight loss, anemia, or gastrointestinal bleeding; these patients are candidates for immediate endoscopy.

The following CPT codes describe urea breath testing:

83013: Helicobacter pylori; breath test analysis for urease activity, non-radioactive isotope (e.g., C-13)

83014: drug administration

In 2000, specific CPT codes for the 14C urea breath test, known as the PYtest, were introduced:

78267: Urea breath test, C-14 (isotopic); acquisition for analysis

78268: analysis

The analysis may be performed by a local nuclear medicine facility or submitted to the manufacturer, TriMed, for analysis. However, in either case, the claim is submitted by the provider. It should be noted that the PYtest can only be administered in settings that are licensed to handle radioactive materials, such as nuclear medicine facilities. Therefore, in contrast to the 13C urea breath test, it is unlikely that the PYtest would be collected in an office environment.

Also in 2000, a new CPT code was introduced to describe the fecal antigen test:

87338; Infectious agent antigen detection by enzyme immunoassay technique, qualitative or semiquantitative, multiple-step method: helicobacter pylori, stool.

In 2005, a new CPT code will be introduced for 13C urea blood testing:

These codes were modified effective January 1, 2005. CPT code 83014 now describes just the drug administration associated with the test. Although the analysis is performed at a reference laboratory, charges for the analysis may be billed through the provider. CPT code 83013 describes the laboratory analysis only and will be billed by the laboratory. In this situation, the provider may bill for the administration of the test using an Evaluation and Management CPT code.

83009 Helicobacter pylori, blood test analysis for urease activity, non-radioactive isotope (e.g., C-13)

Benefit Application

Benefits are determined by the group contract, member benefit booklet, and/or individual subscriber certificate in effect at the time services were rendered.  Benefit products or negotiated coverages may have all or some of the services discussed in this medical policy excluded from their coverage. 

Background

The recognition of the role of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in the pathogenesis of peptic ulcer disease has revolutionized the treatment of peptic ulcer. Specifically, 80% to 95% of patients with duodenal ulcers, and 70% to 90% of patients with gastric ulcers, have coexisting H. pylori gastritis; eradication of H. pylori infection using a variety of combinations of antibiotics, bismuth compounds, and acid suppression therapy has emerged as a basic treatment strategy for these ulcers. However, it is important to realize that the majority of patients positive for H. pylori do not develop ulcer symptoms. While there does appear to be an association between H. Pylori and non-ulcer dyspepsia, the role of H. pylori treatment in alone is uncertain.

Dyspepsia refers to a symptom complex of epigastric pain or discomfort. While some dyspepsia symptoms, such as a postprandial gnawing or burning relieved by foods or antacids are suggestive of ulcer, others, such as belching, bloating, and fullness are referred to as non-ulcer dyspepsia. Nevertheless, there is considerable overlap between ulcer and non-ulcer dyspepsia.

Coincident with the increased understanding of the pathophysiology of H. pylori has been the development of non-invasive methods of detection of H. pylori. Invasive detection of H. pylori involves endoscopy followed by culture, and either direct histologic identification of the organism, or detection of the organism using the CLO (campylobacter-like organism) test. Non-invasive methods include serologic identification of anti-H. pylori antibodies in serum, detection of H. pylori antigens in the stool, and the detection of urease enzyme with an urea breath test (UBT). Serologic tests cannot distinguish between active infection or past exposure; both fecal antigens and UBT indicate active H pylori infection.

Urea breath testing is based on the high urease activity of H. pylori, which hydrolyzes urea to carbon dioxide and ammonia. In the urea breath test, the patient ingests urea labeled with a carbon isotope, either 13C or 14C, and then the concentration of the isotope is measured in the expired CO2. Analysis of the concentration of 13C requires the use of mass spectrometry, and the sample must be submitted to the manufacturer’s reference laboratory for analysis. In contrast, 14C is radioactive, and while its use exposes the patient to a small dose of radiation, its presence can be measured using scintillation counting, a more readily available and economical technique. H. pylori antigens can be detected in the stool by applying antibodies to a diluted stool sample complexed to a detection molecule.

1. The Initial Workup of Patients with Simple Dyspepsia Symptoms

Patients presenting with uncomplicated dyspepsia are commonly treated with an empiric trial of antisecretory therapy, followed by endoscopy only if symptoms persist. Initial endoscopy is reserved for those patients with “alarm symptoms” suggestive of possible malignancy, e.g., anemia, gastrointestinal bleeding, early satiety, or weight loss. In addition, due to the increasing incidence of gastric malignancy as people age, endoscopy as part of the initial workup has been performed in patients over the age of 50 with new onset of dyspepsia. In new treatment algorithms, H. pylori testing has been used as a predictor of underlying peptic ulcer such that patients positive for H. pylori would then undergo either:

• Endoscopy followed by anti-H. pylori therapy only when peptic ulcer is confirmed; or
• Initial empiric therapy with anti-H. pylori therapy followed by endoscopy only in those patients with persistent symptoms after treatment (“test and treat” strategy). In this setting, the H. pylori test is used to determine which type of empiric therapy to use, i.e., antisecretory therapy alone or antisecretory therapy plus anti-H. pylori therapy for those patients testing positive.

Cost-effective analyses of these 2 treatment strategies have compared the potential decreased costs associated with reducing the number of endoscopies in those treated initially with anti-H. pylori therapy versus the increased costs of unnecessarily treating some patients with antibiotics. As noted above, antiH. pylori therapy has not been definitively shown to benefit dyspepsia symptoms in the absence of ulcer. Additional concerns regarding the empiric use of anti-H. pylori therapy are the complications of anti-H. pylori therapy and the possible emergence of resistant strains of H. pylori.

In patients with newly diagnosed H. pylori infection without prior treatment, the differentiation between past or present infection is not relevant. Therefore, serologic tests are appropriate in the initial workup of the patient. In a patient with a prior history of treated H. pylori with recurrent symptoms, a serologic test will not be informative. Therefore either UBT or fecal antigen testing may be performed to diagnose a recurrence of H. pylori infection.

2. UBT or Fecal Antigen Testing to Confirm Eradication of H. pylori at the Conclusion of Therapy

Eradication rates of H. pylori after antibiotic therapy vary from 80% to 90%. Since the purpose of this therapy is to eliminate H. pylori to decrease the ulcer recurrence rate, there has been interest in documenting eradication. In this setting, the breath testing or fecal antigen testing is appropriate to determine active infection. Prior to these technologies, confirmation of organism eradication required repeat endoscopic evaluation to obtain gastric antral biopsy specimens for histology of the CLO test. In most cases, it is unnecessary to document bacterial eradication with follow-up testing; monitoring of clinical symptoms is sufficient. However, patients with persistent symptoms after therapy and those at high risk for recurrence, such as patients with ulcers complicated by bleeding or perforation, may benefit from this testing to determine the necessity for additional anti-H. pylori therapy.

Rationale

Published studies have suggested that empiric treatment with anti-H. pylori therapy in patients with simple dyspepsia who have tested positive for H. pylori (“test and treat”) is cost effective compared to initial endoscopy or endoscopy only in patients positive for H. pylori. (1-3) This use of empiric anti-H. pylori therapy in patients without imaging confirmation of peptic ulcer contradicts a 1994 National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus conference, which recommended that anti-H. pylori therapy be limited to those with documented ulcers. (4) This consensus conference noted that anti-H. pylori therapy has an equivocal effect in patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia, and thus many patients will be unnecessarily treated. (Many patients find the multi-drug and multi-dose anti-H. pylori therapy confusing, cumbersome, and unpleasant.)

However, since its publication, the conclusions of this conference have been widely challenged, (1-3) and there appears to be an emerging consensus that a “test and treat” strategy is a reasonable approach. It should be noted that, due to its lower cost, serologic testing is preferred over urea breath test or fecal antigen testing in the setting of the patient with newly diagnosed dyspepsia.

UBT and fecal antigen testing has also been used to confirm H. pylori eradication after therapy and thus may replace endoscopy in patients with persistent symptoms or patients at high risk for recurrent ulcers. (5, 6) Those high-risk patients with persistent H. pylori may benefit from additional courses of anti–H. pylori therapy. Testing for eradication of H. pylori in patients whose symptoms have resolved is not medically necessary.

References

1. Fendrick AM, Chernew ME, Hirth RA et al. Alternative management strategies for patients with suspected peptic ulcer disease. Ann Intern Med 1995; 123(4):260–8.

2. Ofman JJ, Etchason J, Fullerton S et al. Management strategies for Helicobacter pylori–seropositive patients with dyspepsia: clinical and economic consideration. Ann Intern Med 1997; 126(4):280–91.

3. Soll AH. Consensus conference. Medical treatment of peptic ulcer disease. Practice guidelines. Practice Parameters Committee of the American College of Gastroenterology. JAMA 1996; 275(8):622–9.

4. NIH Consensus Conference. Helicobacter pylori in peptic ulcer disease. NIH Consensus Development Panel on Helicobacter pylori in Peptic Ulcer Disease. JAMA 1994; 272(1):65–9.

5. Slomianski A, Schubert T, Cutler AF. [13C] urea breath test to confirm eradication of Helicobacter pylori. Am J Gastroenterol 1995; 90(2):224–6.

6. Logan RP, Gummett PA, Misiewicz JJ et al. One week eradication regimen for Helicobacter pylori. Lancet 1991; 338(8777):1249–52.

Codes

Policy History