Diagnostic Tests for Heartburn

Diagnostic Test list for Heartburn:

The list of diagnostic tests mentioned in various sources as used in the diagnosis of Heartburn includes:

• Physical examination
  • Look for evidence of anemia - e.g. pale skin and conjunctiva - may suggest chronic oesophagitis, chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer or stomach cancer.
  • Look for evidence of jaundice - e.g. yellow skin and sclera of eyes - may suggest gallstones that pass into common bile duct or cancer of the pancreas.
  • Abdominal examination for tenderness - e.g. tenderness in epigastric area (midline below ribs) may suggest peptic ulceration; tenderness over the right upper abdomen may suggest gall bladder disease.
  • Abdominal examination for mass - e.g. epigastric mass may suggest stomach cancer.
• Blood tests
  • Full blood count and ESR
  • Iron studies
  • Electrolytes and renal function (especially if persistent vomiting as renal failure can present with dyspepsia and vomiting)
  • Liver function tests
  • Helicobacter pylori serology (to test for presence of bacteria that is now accepted to cause duodenal ulcers, but does not distinguish fro past or present infection)
  • Gastrin levels, if multiple peptic ulcers to help diagnose Zollinger-Ellison syndrome
  • Tumor markers including Carcinoembryonic antigen (for bowel cancer) and alphafetoprotein (for hepatoma)
• Stool occult blood test - may be positive with peptic ulcer, oesophagitis, stomach cancer.
• Exercise ECG - may be required to rule out ischemic heart disease.
• Radiological investigations
  • Abdominal ultrasound scan - can give information about the liver, bile ducts, pancreas, kidneys. This is the best test for gallstones.
  • CT Scan abdomen if ultrasound suggests pathology but undefined
  • HIDA scan can exclude an obstructed bile duct
  • Barium swallow and barium meal can diagnose esophageal motility disorders and obstruction of the upper gastrointestinal tract
  • Scintographic gastric -emptying studies may help to diagnose delayed gastric emptying e.g. in diabetes
  • ERCP, if jaundiced, which provides information about the bile ducts
• Urea breath test - test of choice for following the response to treatment of Helicobacter pylori.
• Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (with biopsy of mass if found and for Helicobacter pylori) - may be required to diagnose peptic ulcers, stomach cancer.
• ERCP, if jaundiced
• PH monitoring of the distal esophagus
• Manometry studies may be useful if investigating difficulty with swallowing

Home Diagnostic Testing

These home medical tests may be relevant to Heartburn causes:

• Food Allergies & Intolerances: Home Testing:
  • Home Food Allergy Tests
  • Home Food Intolerance Testing
  • Home Water Testing
  • Home Lead Poisoning Tests
  • Home Heavy Metal Poisoning Tests
• Diabetes: Related Home Testing:
  • Home Diabetes Testing
  • Home Blood Glucose Test Kits
  • Home Urine Glucose Tests
  • Home Urine Ketone Tests
  • Home Diabetes HbA1c Tests
  • Home Microalbumin Tests (Kidney)
  • Home Urine Protein Tests (Kidney)
  • Home Kidney Health Tests
  • Home Eye Health Tests
• Digestive-Related Home Testing:
  • Home Stomach Ulcer Tests
  • Home Colorectal Cancer Test Kits
  • Home Fecal Occult Bleeding Test Kits

 » Next page: Glossary

Rate This Website

What do you think about the features of this website? Take our user survey and have your say:

Website User Survey

Medical Tools & Articles:

Next articles:

• Glossary
• Disease Center Information
• Surveys
• Join in at the forums

Tools & Services:

• Bookmark this page
• Take a survey relating to Heartburn
• Symptom Search
• Symptom Checker
• Medical Dictionary
• Give your feedback

Medical Articles:

• Disease & Treatments Search
• Misdiagnosis Center
• Full list of interesting articles

Forums & Message Boards

• Ask or answer a question at the Boards:
• I cannot get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for my condition?
• See all the Boards.

Enter your search terms Submit search form
Search The Web Search wrongdiagnosis.com

Common Health Mistakes

Symptom
Checker

Search Specialists by State and City