Comparison of the Helicobacter Pylori Diagnosis Methods with Analytic Network Process

Helicobacter pylori is infecting %70-80 of the world’s population and is assumed to cause gastric diseases. Diagnosis of the bacteria is crucial for the treatment of the bacteria related infections. Histology, culture, urea breath test, stool antigen test some of the diagnosis methods each having specific strength and weaknesses as sensitivity, specificity, cost, easiness, time, effectiveness in the treatment and laboratory requirements. In this study, three of the commonly used H. pylori diagnosis methods: histology, culture and urea breath test, are evaluated with Analytic network process (ANP) and the rank of the criteria and alternatives are obtained. The evaluation of the methods and the rank of the diagnosis methods can reduce time, cost, and validity of the test results.