Each year around Thanksgiving, the International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders recognizes GERD Awareness Week. Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, or GERD, is a common disorder that affects roughly twenty percent of the U.S. adult population. Although common, the disease is often unrecognized, and its symptoms misunderstood. According to the IFFGD, GERD is most often associated with repeat occurrences of…
The COVID-19 pandemic has played a major role in the medical field and has altered the lives of patients’ throughout the world. Commonwealth Diagnostics International (CDI) co-hosted Epicured’s Partners in Health November 2020 Clinical Webinar featuring a panel of Gastroenterology experts who explored trends and best practices for diagnosing and treating functional GI Disorders in a…
The 2020 ACG Annual Scientific Meeting looked different this year. Like most medical conferences, the American College of Gastroenterology made the tough decision to transition the live meeting from in person (originally scheduled to be in Nashville) to a virtual educational experience. Despite the shift to an online setting, the meeting was a huge success…
Almost every patient has experienced an upset stomach or an unpleasant reaction to food or beverages they have consumed. Many times, certain foods can make one feel unwell, regardless if the patient is healthy and follows a balanced diet. Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic report that food allergies, which are an immune system response, affect around…
In Epicured’s recent Partners in Health Women in GI Symposium, Commonwealth Diagnostics International, (CDI) had the privilege of sponsoring a presentation on SIBO vs IBS-D by Judy Nee, MD. During the presentation, Dr. Nee discussed the differences between SIBO and IBS-D and why it is important for physicians to diagnose and treat patients properly. Watch Dr. Nee’s presentation…
Researchers are commonly finding methane SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) is its own kind of intestinal overgrowth. Many are now labeling this condition as IMO, or Intestinal Methanogen Overgrowth, since methanogens that cause methane gas are technically not bacteria, but are part of the Archaea kingdom, and can grow in the colon as well as the small…
It’s easy to mix up irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) because the names sound very similar, and some people with IBD can also have IBS. It gets even more complicated when Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) gets added to the mix. While all three can have some similar symptoms, these gastrointestinal…
The Aerosolization Dilemma: As the world continues to adapt to COVID-19, more research has been published on how the virus is spread and how we should adapt our day-to-day lives to mitigate risk of exposure. The World Health Organization (WHO) has called attention to airborne transmission and the effects that aerosols play in spreading the…
A Comparison of Diagnostic Tests for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth and Carbohydrate Malabsorption Disorders Gastrointestinal disorders and their symptoms affect millions of people in the United States each year, and the effects of these symptoms can be discouraging for patients. Even worse, Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) and other maldigestive disorders can be difficult to…
According to the North American Consensus on Hydrogen and Methane-Based Breath Testing in Gastrointestinal Disorders, breath testing “is a useful, inexpensive, simple and safe diagnostic test in the evaluation of common gastroenterology problems,” including small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), carbohydrate maldigestion and dysfunction or alterations in oro-cecal transit. The American College of Gastroenterology’s Clinical…
