Bravo Esophageal pH Monitoring
Bravo pH capsule attached to delivery system Bravo pH Monitoring collects 48 hours of pH data, twice the data of conventional catheter-based tests, increasing the ability to document relationships between atypical and reflux events.
The 48 hours of data, allows your physician to evaluate your reflux symptoms and determine the best course of treatment for you.
What is Esophageal pH Monitoring?
Esophageal pH monitoring is a test used to evaluate for gastroesophageal reflux disease and to determine the effectiveness of medications that prevent acid reflux. This test measures the amount of acid refluxing or backing up from the stomach into the esophagus (food pipe). Esophageal pH monitoring is used in several situations to assess for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The first is to evaluate typical symptoms of GERD such as heartburn and regurgitation that do not respond to treatment with medications. In this situation, there may be a question whether the patient has gastroesophageal reflux disease or whether antacid medications are adequate to suppress acid production. The second is when there are atypical symptoms of GERD such as chest pain, coughing, wheezing, hoarseness, sore throat. In this situation, it is not clear if the symptoms are due to gastroesophageal reflux. Occasionally, this test can be used to monitor the effectiveness of medications used to treat GERD. The test is often used as part of a pre-operative evaluation before anti-reflux surgery.
Procedure
Esophageal pH monitoring is currently performed using one of the following three techniques:
- Single sensor pH monitoring using a pH catheter
- Dual sensor pH monitoring using a pH catheter
- Wireless pH monitoring using Bravo pH capsule or OMOM pH monitoring capsule
The duration of the test is 24 hours in the first and second techniques and 48 hours for the Bravo capsule or more (96 hours) for OMOM capsule.