Use and abuse of hydrogen breath tests.

• Hydrogen breath tests are widely used to explore the pathophysiology of functional gastrointestinal disorders. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and carbohydrate malabsorption are disorders detected by these tests that have been proposed to be of great importance for symptoms in, for instance, irritable bowel syndrome. However, conclusions drawn from these studies are highly controversial and divergent results exist. There is also an extensive use of these tests in clinical practice with difficulties regarding interpretation of the tests and sometimes erroneous conclusions. The limitations and pitfalls of these tests will be reviewed in this article, and hopefully the occasional abuse of these tests can be turned into proper clinical and scientific use instead in the future.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Gastroenterologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Gastroenterology and Hepatology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Bacteria

growth & development

Bacterial Infections

diagnosis

Breath Tests

methods

Dietary Carbohydrates

pharmacokinetics

Gastrointestinal Diseases

diagnosis

Humans

Hydrogen

analysis

Intestine

Small

microbiology

Malabsorption Syndromes

diagnosis

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

for (ämneskategori)