Long- and Short-Term Storage of Helicobacter pylori in Gastric Biopsies

Abstract

Successful isolation of Helicobacter pylori from gastric biopsies depends on the method of handling the biopsy prior to culture. Optimally, biopsies should be plated and placed in microaerobic conditions immediately, However, when appropriate facilities for culture are not immediately available, biopsies must be stored for several days or more, or transported over long distances. For research purposes, biopsies may be stored for long periods of time in order to permit future analysis. Many studies have evaluated survival of H. pylori cultures under various storage conditions,^{1, 5, 6, 8–10, 12, 13} but few have examined survival of H. pylori in gastric biopsies,^2,4,7,11 and none have examined the survival of H. pylori in biopsies stored for long periods at -70° C. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the survival of H. pylori in gastric biopsies under various storage conditions.