General Guidelines:

  • Intestinal breath testing is a simple method of evaluating the small intestine for the presence of excess bacteria.
  • Testing is based on measurement of fermentation (gas production) upon exposure of intestinal bacteria to a form of “sugar.”
  • The most common type of “sugar” used is LACTULOSE.
  • LACTULOSE is a safe nondigestible, nonabsorbable “sugar” that requires a PRESCRIPTION.
  • LACTULOSE is generally the preferred “sugar” because of extensive experience with it in the literature and because of its ability to reach the colon.
  • The second most common and yet less popular “sugar” used is DEXTROSE (a form of glucose), a part of which can be absorbable, hence less desirable. SIBO testing with DEXTROSE may be ideal for SIBO in the very beginning of the small bowel. However, the test is less sensitive for distal small bowel SIBO.
  • Other types of sugar that are much less commonly used are FRUCTOSE AND SUCROSE.
  • Our SIBO testing includes measurement of Hydrogen, Methane and CO2 gasses. The latter is needed for quality control of the samples.
  • Our physician has extensive experience in SIBO testing and provides an INTERPRETATION with the report.
  • The test performance, including sample collection, analysis of the gasses, interpretation, and report preparation by a physician, generally takes about three hours. We use the state-of- the-art QuinTron analyzer.
  • Unless otherwise stated/requested, we use LACTULOSE as the preferred substrate for SIBO testing.