The Hydrogen Breathing Test (WTO) is a test that helps you determine if your body is digesting and absorbing carbohydrates properly. The hydrogen breath test is performed, among others, by when lactose, fructose or other sugars intolerance is suspected. What is the hydrogen breath test? What are the standards for this test? How to interpret its results?

Hydrogen breath test(WTO) is a test that detects hydrogen and determines its level in the exhaled air after giving the patient carbohydrates (sugars).

Hydrogen is a gas that is produced in the fermentation process by bacteria acting on carbohydrates in the large or small intestine. Then it passes into the blood, and then into the alveoli, from where it is removed through the respiratory tract. In the course of some diseases, most or all of the carbohydrates consumed are not digested and undergo excessive, abnormal fermentation in the large intestine, which results in the production of large amounts of hydrogen.

Hydrogen breath test (WTO) - indications for the test

The above process occurs with malabsorption or intolerance of lactose, fructose and other sugars - sucrose, sorbitol or xylitol, therefore the suspicion of this type of food intolerance is an indication for examination. In addition, the hydrogen breath test should be performed when there is a suspicion of bacterial overgrowth of the small intestine, irritable bowel syndrome.

Therefore, the study is intended for people struggling with troublesome symptoms from the digestive system, such as, e.g. persistent bloating, a feeling of excessive gas in the abdomen, diarrhea, constipation or abdominal pain that occurs after consuming carbohydrates or is chronic (lasting at least 3 months).

Hydrogen breath test (WTO) - how to prepare for the test?

  • a few days before the examination (until the day of the examination), you should refrain from taking medications such as: vitamins, aspirin, antibiotics, laxatives;
  • the day before the examination, go on a proper diet - avoid bloating vegetables, such as: cabbage, onions, leeks, beans, pickled vegetables; you must not drink milk and fruit juices; last meal on the day beforethe test should be abundant and low in dietary fiber;
  • you should not smoke cigarettes from the evening before the examination and on the day of the examination and during the examination;
  • Before the test, you should thoroughly brush your teeth and brush your tongue. People with dentures should not use adhesive on the day of the examination;
  • you should report to the test on an empty stomach (12 hours after the last meal). However, you can drink a glass of mineral water (still, no added sugar or any flavorings);

Hydrogen breath test - what is it?

The test consists in collecting samples of the exhaled air in a special device, which then gives the hydrogen content in the exhaled air.

Patients with high sugar intolerance may experience gas, stomach pain or loose stools during the test.

The first air sampling is done on an empty stomach (before carbohydrate administration). The patient takes a deep breath, holds the air in his lungs for about 15 seconds, and then exhales vigorously through a device that measures the concentration of hydrogen in the air. Then the patient is given a liquid to drink containing a certain type of carbohydrate (e.g. lactose). The next stage of the test is taking air samples at specific intervals, e.g. 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140, 160 and 180 minutes from the administration to drinking of a solution of a specific type of sugar. The number of downloads depends on the medical facility where the test is performed.

The price of the test is about PLN 200.

Important

Hydrogen breath test - contraindications

The test cannot be performed on people with congenital fructose intolerance, or with known or suspected postprandial hypoglycaemia.

The use of antibiotics for the last month, radiography and colonoscopy in the last 4 weeks, and an ileostomy (stoma made on the small intestine) are relative contraindications.

Hydrogen breath test - standards. Interpreting the results

In a he althy person, the initial hydrogen excretion should not exceed 10 ppm. Moreover, there is no increase in concentration above 20 ppm in subsequent measurements (hydrogen measurement expressed in ppm - parts per million, i.e. parts per million)

With impaired sugar absorption, an increase in the content of hydrogen molecules in the exhaled air is noted by more than 20 ppm compared to the initial value (before drinking the liquid that contains carbohydrates). According to others, this result is also positive if the hydrogen content in three consecutive samples of exhaled air exceeds the baseline value by at least3 ppm.

When interpreting the test results, one should take into account factors that may distort them, including: recent antibiotic therapy, chronic intake of salicylates, conditions after bowel resection, severe tooth decay, smoking.

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Research