Use of pH Paper to Reflect Gastric pH
1992; Elsevier BV; Volume: 101; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1378/chest.101.3.885
ISSN1931-3543
AutoresEric D. Dobkin, Neil S. Yeston,
Tópico(s)Esophageal and GI Pathology
ResumoTo the Editor: We read with great interest the study of Layon et al,1Layon AJ Florete Jr, OG Day AL Kilroy RA James PB McGuigan JE. The effect of duodenojejunal alimentation on gastric pH and hormones in intensive care unit patients.Chest. 1991; 99: 695-702Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (17) Google Scholar which appeared in the March 1991 issue of Chest. While the results are intriguing, we question their use of pH paper as described in the Methods section. In our study of its utility, we found pH paper to be inaccurate in its ability to reflect gastric pH.2Dobkin ED Valcour A McCloskey CR Allen L Kambe JC Gleason E et al.Does pH paper accurately reflect gastric pH? Crit Care Med. 1990; 18: 985-998Google Scholar Like Layon et al, we performed a blinded test of clear buffered solutions, comparing pH paper to a calibrated pH electrode. Using this comparison, we found the sensitivity and specificity of pH paper in predicting a pH of <4 to be 100 percent. However, when actually comparing gastric pH of <4 as read by pH paper to that determined with a pH electrode, we found the sensitivity of the paper to be only 66.7 percent. Therefore, the use of pH paper to predict a gastric pH of <4 is of questionable validity. The reason for this discrepancy was not readily apparent but may have been due to the inhomogeneous mixture of gastric juice (ie, mucus, protein, acid, bile, etc). Given this information, our data suggest that the results of any study using pH paper as a determinant of true gastric pH may be inaccurate. Use of pH Paper to Reflect Gastric pHCHESTVol. 101Issue 3PreviewTo the Editor: Full-Text PDF
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