Frequently Asked Questions

How does it work?

Your PepsinCheck by Peptest will be delivered by FedEx. The package will contain a second FedEx ClinicalPak for shipment of the vials to the lab for analysis. The ClinicalPak will be pre-labeled for free FedEx shipping.

Please follow all instructions provided with your PepsinCheck test. If the instructions are not followed, the accuracy of the test may suffer. It is also important to remember to fill out the patient card in your PepsinCheck box. This will help us to rapidly process your results.

Samples should be collected in a single 24-hour window. Once collected, they should be refrigerated prior to shipping.

Please refrain from drinking alkaline water or using over the counter antacid, such as Tums, or alginate suspensions such as Gaviscon Advance in the 48 hours before and the 24 hours of your testing period. PPIs and other prescription medications can be taken during the test. Please consult your prescribing physician before altering any treatment plan.

Once shipped, your samples should arrive at the lab for analysis within two business days. Samples are analyzed seven days per week, but it may take additional time to generate the final report and some samples may be delayed in transit due to weekends or holidays. This should not affect the outcome of your test. Patient reports are sent out Monday through Friday. Please allow up to a week from the shipment of your samples for your results to be returned.

 

How long will it take to get my results?

Once shipped, your samples should arrive at the lab for analysis within two business days. Samples are analyzed seven days per week, but it may take additional time to generate the final report and some samples may be delayed in transit due to weekends or holidays.  This should not affect the outcome of your test.  Patient reports are sent out Monday through Friday. Please allow up to a week from the shipment of your samples for your results to be returned. 

 

Is PepsinCheck covered by insurance?

PepsinCheck by Peptest is not currently covered by insurance plans. 

 

Is PepsinCheck the same as the Peptest?

PepsinCheck by Peptest is the three vial version of the Peptest available for sale in the USA.  It is manufactured and supplied by RD Biomed in partnership with Restech.  To purchase Peptest globally, please visit www.peptest.co.uk.

 

Can I eat and drink as normal on the day of my PepsinCheck test?

We recommend that you eat what you normally eat and drink what you normally drink during the day you take your PepsinCheck test.  Diet may be impacting your reflux, so it is important to remain consistent for the most relevant results.

 

How accurate is PepsinCheck by Peptest?

Peptest is a highly accurate diagnostic test with performance measures validated in several clinical tests, as indicated below:

  • Sensitivity: 95%
  • Specificity: 89%
  • Pepsin detection limit: 16 nanograms per milliliter (16 ng/ml)

Sensitivity is defined as the proportion of people with disease who have a positive test result, i.e. a highly sensitive test helps rule out disease when the result is negative.

Specificity is defined as the proportion of people without disease who have a negative test result, i.e. when a highly specific test is positive you can be nearly certain that you actually have the disease.

Peptest will measure the concentration of pepsin in your saliva to show the severity of reflux and give a benchmark to assess the success or failure of any treatment. The detection limit of 16ng/ml is the lowest amount of Pepsin that can be measured.

 

What should I do once I get my diagnosis?

Once your saliva samples have been returned to the PepsinCheck labs for analysis you will receive the results report indicating whether each sample is positive or negative. If positive you will be given a reading of the concentration of pepsin in the sample.

You should then discuss the next steps with your healthcare team. The exact treatment pathway you follow will depend on your symptoms, the results of your PepsinCheck analysis and any other relevant information your healthcare team possesses.

 

Should I stop taking medication such as PPI therapy, antacids, Gaviscon or H2 receptor antagonists prior to taking samples?

We recommend that you stop taking antacids and raft-forming/ alginate suspensions such as Gaviscon for 48 hours prior to collecting samples for Peptest analysis.

You do not have to stop PPI or H2 receptor antagonist therapy as Peptest will still detect pepsin in the presence of these if pepsin is being refluxed.  Prior to changing any prescribed treatments for reflux, it is important to consult with the prescribing physician.

Read advice on which medications will affect your Peptest results. https://www.peptest.co.uk/can-i-use-peptest-reflux-medication/

 

Can I have LPR symptoms but not have reflux?

A patient can present with laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) symptoms which are not necessarily caused by reflux and this is the reason why a negative PepsinCheck result can be as important as a positive result in helping us identify the reasons why patients are experiencing symptoms.

A negative pepsin result in a patient with LPR like symptoms is far more challenging. The symptoms may be due to i) a previous reflux event which has damaged the sensitive epithelium cell layer of the throat, vocal cords, airways ii) this damaged area has allowed bacteria to colonize which will cause inflammation and irritation and possibly needs to be treated with antibiotics on anti-inflammatory type medication iii) the symptoms might be the result of an allergy or food intolerance and this will need investigating iv) the damage to the delicate epithelial cell lining might have been caused by smoking or alcohol or by insulting the cell lining by drinking excessively hot or acidic drinks.

Consult your physician for further information.

 

Should I stop drinking alkaline water before taking Peptest?

Yes. Alkaline water (pH 8.8) has been demonstrated to denature pepsin in in-vitro studies. Although we know of no published data that exists to demonstrate whether or not alkaline water has any impact on reflux symptoms we recommend that alkaline water is avoided for 48 hours prior to taking the samples for Peptest.

 

How will my results be sent?

Results will be emailed via our HIPPA compliant email software Virtru. We believe that it is important to keep your personal information secure. Virtru has a video and detailed instructions on how to access your results.

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