The results and follow-up activities

GastroPanel® is a unique blood test for diagnosing vague upper abdominal pain.

Results indicate the status of your stomach health, as well as the need for any follow-up activities. The test provides information on the possibility of impaired acid secretion and the associated risks, as well as the recommendation for H. pylori eradication treatment, or gastroscopy if necessary.

A normal GastroPanel® result is a sign that the gastric mucosa is working properly and it is healthy, and that the stomach troubles are functional or due to other reasons.

If the GastroPanel® test result is abnormal, discuss the results with your doctor to arrange appropriate follow up activities and the possible need for gastroscopy. If all the other markers are normal, but the test finds H. pylori, discuss eradication treatment with your doctor.

If the test result refers to mucosal atrophy, gastroscopy is always recommended to investigate the severity of the condition. Sometimes the findings refer to a decreased gastric acid secretion as a result of PPI treatment. In this case, the results from a repeat test will be normal when there is a two-week break from PPI medicines. If the GastroPanel test indicates increased acid secretion, the test result will normalise after two weeks of PPI treatment.

The GastroPanel® test classifies the findings into one of five diagnostic options:

  1. healthy stomach,
  2. H. pylori infection,
  3. Atrophic gastritis in the antrum (lower part of the stomach)
  4. Atrophic Gastritis in the  corpus (upper part of the stomach)
  5. Atrophic Gastritis affecting the whole stomach

In addition the level of acid secretion is reported as one of three categories: normal, low or elevated. 

Gastroscopy

Gastroscopy involves passing a thin flexible endoscope with a built-in camera through the mouth and into the oesophagus to examine the oesophagus, the stomach and the first part of the small intestine. Unlike the blood-sample based GastroPanel®, gastroscopy is an invasive diagnostic procedure. If the GastroPanel® test finds an anacidic stomach, it does not necessarily require an endoscopy, because the reason for an anacidic stomach may be caused by PPI medication.

 

 

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