Exhaled breath analysis for the diagnosis and assessment of endoluminal gastrointestinal diseases

Investigation of gastrointestinal diseases is often invasive to the patient and costly. Exhaled breath analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) may provide a noninvasive diagnostic tool to allow the assessment and stratification of risk. The aim of this review was to evaluate the current role of VOC breath analysis in the diagnosis and assessment of endoluminal gastrointestinal disease. Medline, Embase, Cochrane, trial registries, conference proceedings, and reference lists were searched for relevant diagnostic studies.