Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. If your healthcare provider has recommended a pH monitoring test for acid reflux , what can you expect? What happens before, during, and after the procedure, and what does it mean if your results are abnormal? The pH test for acid reflux gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD measures how often and for how long stomach acid enters the esophagus, and how well it clears the esophagus.
Performed with a thin, plastic tube armed with a sensor, it measures the amount of acid backing up into the esophagus. This procedure is often done when GERD symptoms are present but an endoscopy exam doesn't detect any evidence of reflux disease.
It may also be used on patients for whom the standard therapy of a twice-daily dose of proton pump inhibitors PPIs does not add any benefit. It can also be helpful to evaluate less common symptoms of GERD such as chest pain, asthma, hoarseness, and more. Before doing any testing, your healthcare provider will ask you about your symptoms of GERD. The most common of these is heartburn. Other symptoms may include nausea or abdominal pain, difficulty swallowing, or a chronic cough.
Your healthcare provider will also ask you about your risk factors for GERD, including whether you have a hiatal hernia , smoke, or take medications or eat foods that could predispose you to reflux. Often times the diagnosis of GERD is made on symptoms alone a clinical diagnosis.
If the diagnosis is uncertain, or if your symptoms are chronic and there is a concern that you could develop complications of GERD, further testing is recommended. Testing is often done as well if you fail to respond to lifestyle changes and medications. At the current time, the most common test is an upper endoscopy.
This is a procedure in which a tube is passed through your mouth and into your esophagus and stomach. Biopsies of any abnormalities can be taken. If no abnormalities are found, your healthcare provider may then recommend pH monitoring. Other tests that are done less often may include a barium swallow or esophageal manometry.
If your healthcare provider recommends an endoscopy, this will usually take place in the endoscopy suite at the hospital or in a free-standing endoscopy clinic. The procedure can be a little uncomfortable but is usually tolerated quite well. Make sure to talk about medications such as proton pump inhibitors such as Prilosec or omeprazole , H2 blockers such as ranitidine , antacids, steroids, calcium channel blockers, and nitrates.
Since no invasive surgical techniques are used in the monitoring process, there is typically no recovery time. Unexplained gastrointestinal symptoms can arise at virtually any time of life. Some of these may be caused by stress, while others are the result of damage or dysfunction somewhere within the intestines.
Since many different problems can lead to similar recurring symptoms, pH monitoring provides a critical piece of the puzzle in determining the root cause of the issue. Painful reflux of acid into the throat can cause serious problems over time. Often accompanied by gas, bloating, nausea, and other concerns, it may signal a serious problem.
If you are dealing with symptoms like these, contact Gramercy Park Digestive Disease Center for expert help. AAAHC , the leading organization in developing safety and quality standards for ambulatory health care.
When Is pH Monitoring Needed? What Is pH monitoring? The Process A thin tube is passed down to the stomach and then withdrawn into the esophagus. Who Makes a Good Candidate?
Videos Figures Images Quizzes Symptoms. General reference. Catheter-based pH monitoring. Wireless pH monitoring. Diagnostic and Therapeutic Gastrointestinal Procedures. Test your knowledge.
Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth can lead to vitamin deficiencies, fat malabsorption, and undernutrition. This syndrome can be caused by anatomic alterations or intestinal motility disorders. Which of the following may cause bacterial overgrowth in older people?
More Content. Click here for Patient Education. To document excessive acid or nonacid reflux. The device is endoscopically placed 5 cm above the lower esophageal sphincter and continuously monitors esophageal acid exposure defined as pH.
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