Gut Health Tests

The smart diagnostic solution for SIBO and carbohydrate malabsorption.

Refer My Patients Research Frequently Asked Questions

INTRODUCTION

TAKE SOME OF THE GUESSWORK OUT OF YOUR GUT HEALTH DIAGNOSES

As a professional working in nutrition and healthcare, you’ll be well aware of the worldwide healthcare burden caused by the increasing prevalence of digestive illnesses such as irritable bowel syndrome or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). This burden, for both patients and professionals, is exacerbated by the difficulty in obtaining a reliable, accurate diagnosis that leads to an appropriate treatment pathway.

Breath testing is a simple, non-invasive way to investigate gastrointestinal health.

Through our partnership with gut health specialists at Functional Gut Clinic, we can offer your patients hydrogen and methane breath testing that can accurately confirm or eliminate the possibility of SIBO or carbohydrate malabsorption. Functional Gut Clinic experts provide a full report of results after the completion and analysis of the test.

Costs for our hydrogen and methane breath testing kits are well within the applicable NHS Payment Scheme tariff. Once the kit arrives back at our lab, results will typically be available to you in 2-3 working days.

BENEFITS

HOW CAN WE SUPPORT YOU AND YOUR PATIENTS?

If you’re a UK-based healthcare professional, we can provide hydrogen and methane breath testing kits for SIBO and carbohydrate malabsorption, shipped directly to your patients ready for breath sampling.

BENEFITS FOR THE CLINIC / HOSPITAL:

Home test

Minimizes breaches and cancelled appointments due to staff shortages or unattended appointments by patients

Shorter waiting list

Reduces staff burden freeing up time with no limits on testing numbers

Cost effective

Tests are priced well within the applicable NHS Payment Scheme tariff and the cost includes the kit, analysis and reporting

BENEFITS FOR THE PATIENT:

Easy to use

Full instructions in the kit, online videos and telephone support

Flexible

Patients can do the test at home whenever it’s convenient with no need for an appointment

Convenient

Once the test is completed, it is posted back to us using the free post envelope

Our breath tests produce quick, accurate and safe patient diagnoses:

Each test is clinically validated to UK, EU and US standards

Data is interpreted and reported by our expert GI physiologists

Non-invasive compared to alternatives such as jejunal aspiration

SIBO BREATH TEST: SAMPLE REPORT

This particular test report is an example of the kind of document you would receive if your patient had completed a hydrogen and methane breath test (HMBT) to assess for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). In this case the patient has tested positive for SIBO, with their test results compared to relevant diagnostic guidelines (both UK and NAC), in order to provide the most reliable outcomes.

View the sample report

If you’re in the UK and would like to refer your patients for an at home breath test for SIBO or carbohydrate malabsorption, at a cost within the NHS tariff, please get in touch with our expert team.

Sample-Report-Positive-SIBO-Breath-Test_image

SIBO TESTING UK:

If you’re a UK-based healthcare professional who would like to refer patients for testing please fill in the form and the team will be in touch.

If you would like to learn more the OMED Health Analyzer and App, a portable breath tester that will allow your patients reliably detect hydrogen and methane gas in their breath anytime, anywhere, then sign up to our waitlist.

ADDITIONAL ARTICLES AND RESOURCES

Our Insights Hub contains the latest scientific gastrointestinal research and information on the events we will be attending.

Trace Gases & Breath Testing for Gastrointestinal Disorders: A GI Community Chat

Functional Assessment of the Microbiome Webinar

Slides from Functional Assessment of the Microbiome Webinar

Exploring gut health with breath tests and stool sampling

What Hydrogen and Methane can tell you about gut health

FAQs

FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS

How much do tests cost?

Tests are available to the NHS at costs below the NHS tariff. For private tests, insurance companies can be billed directly.

FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS

How can I arrange to refer patients for testing?

You can refer patients to the our partners the Functional Gut Clinic for testing and they will manage the complete process including sending out kits, performing analysis and reporting results.

FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS

Can the kits be used by the NHS?

Yes. There are several NHS hospitals already using the kits as they have significant benefits for both patients and the hospital:

Test can be done at home or in an outpatient setting if preferred
No capital outlay or ongoing maintenance costs
Reduced waiting lists
Reduced staff burden
Test cost is well within the NHS tariff

FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS

Is home testing a good alternative to in-clinic HMBT?

Replacing in-clinic tests with at home testing saves time and reduces COVID-19 risks for patients by reducing the number of required clinical consultations. Tests can be performed at the patient’s convenience. Test costs are below the NHS tariff and results are returned rapidly together with specialist interpretation.

FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS

Are there any additional risks to home testing?

Home testing is viable, safe and efficient.

>90% of issues with home test results do not affect reliability and can be overcome by slight changes to the analysis process. Invalid baseline samples can be substituted with a surrogate sample. Analysis of time courses with invalid 90 minute samples can be done using 75 minute samples instead. High baseline samples can be re-collected subsequently.

A small number of issues result from patient errors such as failures to follow protocols or label samples correctly.

FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS

What reporting criteria do you use for SIBO?

There are two main consensus documents that people follow when interpreting SIBO breath test results, the North American Consensus 2017 and the European Guidelines published by Ledochowski.

European SIBO cut off values ≥ 10 ppm rise in hydrogen above baseline within 60 minutes.

North American SIBO cut off values ≥ 20 ppm rise in hydrogen above baseline within 90 minutes.

We provide a report using both the above as consultants have their own preferences as to which parameters they prefer to use.

Most patients come out either positive for both parameters or negative for both parameters, but in instances where the results are conflicting, we will look at patient symptoms during the test to inform the borderline result or recommend a follow-up glucose test to provide clarity.