GastroPanel was performed in 554 consecutive children subjected to EGD.
PGC and anti-H. pylori were sensitive (82.5 % and 73.1 % ) and specific (58.1 % and 84.0 % ) indices of H. pylori infection. Antral H. pylori colonization density, inflammation and activity grades were correlated with PGC. PGC and G17 were significantly higher in children with celiac disease (14.9 ± 0.88 µg/L and 5.6 ± 0.79 pmol/L) than in controls (8.5 ± 0.38 µg/L and 2.4 ± 0.24 pmol/L). The best cut-offs to distinguish H. pylori infected children from controls were 7.45 µg/L for PGC, 4.2 pmol/L for G17, 18 U for anti-H. pylori and 25 µg/L for PGA. With these cut-offs, GastroPanel had a NPV of 89.6 % and a PPV of 66.8 % .
A negative GastroPanel result in children with upper abdominal non alarm symptoms, should allow the paediatrician to reasonably rule out the presence of major gastro-duodenal diseases and therefore avoid EGD.