The large intestine is packed with bacteria, whilst the small intestine typically contains very few bacteria. If the small intestine becomes overgrown with bacteria it can lead to malabsorption of key nutrients, causing symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, bloating, fatigue, malabsorption of nutrients and weight loss. Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) is also thought to be a possible factor in some cases of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.
This simple breath tests involves drinking a solution of lactulose provided, and collecting breath samples every 30 minutes minutes over a 3 hour period using the test kit provided. The process is then repeated following drinking a glucose solution that is provided.
Bacteria in the small intestine produce hydrogen and methane gas when exposed to glucose or lactulose. The glucose test is used to detect SIBO at the upper end of the small intestine, whereas the lactulose is used to detect SIBO at the lower end of the small intestine.
The lactulose test is also used to measure oro-caecal transit time (OCTT) - this is the amount of time it takes for food to travel from the mouth to the beginning of the large intestine - prolonged OCTT has been associated with SIBO.
