Acid perfusion test, also called the Bernstein test, is a test done to reproduce the
pain
Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, ...
when the lower
esophagus
The esophagus (American English) or oesophagus (British English; both ), non-technically known also as the food pipe or gullet, is an organ in vertebrates through which food passes, aided by peristaltic contractions, from the pharynx to the ...
is irrigated with an acid solution in people with
GERD Gerd or GERD may refer to:
* Gerd (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname
* Gerd (moon), a moon of Saturn
* Gerd Island, South Orkney Islands, Antarctica
* Gastroesophageal reflux disease, a chronic symptom of mucosal damage ...
(
gastroesophageal reflux disease
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is one of the upper gastrointestinal chronic diseases where stomach content persistently and regularly flows up into the esophagus, resulting in symptoms and/ ...
).
There will be a negative result in normal people, but a false positive reading may be seen in up to 15% of people.
Bernstein test is simple and cheap but mostly obsolete nowadays.
Esophageal pH monitoring
Esophageal pH monitoring is the current gold standard for diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). It provides direct physiologic measurement of acid in the esophagus and is the most objective method to document reflux disease, asses ...
is the gold standard for GERD. However, the initial management is with proton pump inhibitors. If the patient does not respond to it, and continues to have symptoms of GERD, i.e. heartburn, hoarseness, chronic cough, then 24 hr pH monitoring should be considered.
References
Medical tests
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