gastric emptying breath test (GEBT)

Indications

• evaluation of gastroparesis

Contraindications

• hypersensitivity to spirulina, egg, milk or wheat allergens

Procedure

• measures carbon dioxide in a patient's breath
• after an overnight fast, the patient eats a special test meal that includes a scrambled-egg mix & the protein spirulina platensis, which has been enriched with carbon-13
• at multiple points in a 4-hour period after the test meal, GEBT calculates the rate of stomach evacuation by measuring the ratio of carbon-13 to carbon-12 in breath samples
• this is compared with a baseline ratio calculated before the meal

Notes

• low cost

More general terms

• breath test
• point of care test