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A pH probe is a test to determine the amount of acid in a patient's stomach. It is used to diagnosed Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). Patients with Gastroparesis often suffer from GERD as well. For this test, a very small tube is placed through the patients nose and into the stomach. It is connected to a small portable machine which records the acid levels throughout the day for 24 hours. It is frequently an outpatient procedure and the patient is usually asked to maintain normal eating habits for this test. Also, the patient is given a diary to document symptoms, time of the symptoms, whether food triggers it, or if it is connected to a positional change (sitting up, etc.). If the patient has higher than normal levels of acid during that 24 hour period, he/she probably has GERD1. Doctors typically treat that with medications such as proton pump inhibitors which reduce the amount of acid produced in the stomach (prilosec, nexium, prevacid, aciphex) 2. If the GERD is very severe and not controlled on medication, the patient may benefit from a Nissen Fundoplication3. A new, more easily tolerable, method of testing pH levels known as the Bravo Monitoring System is now available from Medtronic. It is the size of a capsule and is placed during an endoscopy. It will monitor pH levels for 48 hours with much less discomfort than is available in the traditional pH monitoring. 1. http://www.barrettsinfo.com/content/info_2b3_ph_monitoring.htm 2. http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/HC/Treatment/0,4047,14,00.html 3. http://www.columbiasurgery.org/divisions/surgical/gerd.html
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