When Digestive Symptoms Need More Than a Guess
Bloating, chronic diarrhoea, unexplained weight loss, and persistent stomach pain rarely have an obvious cause on the surface. Many of these symptoms trace back to either a bacterial infection sitting quietly in the stomach lining, or an autoimmune reaction to gluten that most patients never suspect until they’re specifically tested for it.
This guide covers the digestive infection and celiac disease panel Altus Lab offers, along with the routine stool workup that typically accompanies these investigations. For IBD monitoring, cancer markers, and pancreatic function tests, read our companion guide covering that separate panel.
Every test here is supervised by Dr. Alok Gupta, MD Pathology, Ex-PGIMER Chandigarh, with home sample collection available across Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula.
H. Pylori Antibody (IgG) – Serum
H. Pylori Antibody testing detects IgG antibodies your immune system produces in response to Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that infects the stomach lining and remains one of the most common causes of gastritis, peptic ulcers, and, in some cases, stomach cancer if left untreated over many years.
This blood test identifies whether you have been exposed to H. pylori at some point, making it useful for initial screening. However, it cannot distinguish between a current active infection and a past exposure your body has already cleared, which is exactly why doctors often pair it with the Stool Antigen Test discussed next for a clearer picture.
At Altus Lab, this test provides a straightforward first step for patients presenting with recurring stomach pain, bloating, or dyspepsia, giving your doctor an early indication of whether H. pylori warrants further, more specific investigation.
H. Pylori Stool Antigen Test
The Stool Antigen Test detects actual H. pylori proteins present in your stool, offering a more precise answer than antibody testing since it confirms an active, current infection rather than simply prior exposure. This distinction matters significantly when deciding whether treatment is genuinely necessary right now.
Doctors frequently use this test both to confirm an initial diagnosis and, importantly, to verify that treatment has successfully cleared the infection afterward, since antibody levels can remain elevated for months even after successful eradication, making antibody retesting unreliable for confirming cure.
At Altus Lab, we recommend this test either as a first-line diagnostic tool or specifically 4 to 6 weeks after completing H. pylori treatment, ensuring your doctor has genuine confirmation of eradication rather than relying on symptom improvement alone, which doesn’t always correlate reliably with bacterial clearance.
Anti-tTG IgA & IgG (Tissue Transglutaminase)
Anti-tTG antibody testing is the first-line screening test for celiac disease, an autoimmune condition where consuming gluten triggers your immune system to attack the small intestine’s lining, causing malabsorption, chronic digestive symptoms, and, over time, nutritional deficiencies if left undiagnosed.
This test checks both IgA and IgG antibodies against tissue transglutaminase, an enzyme your body produces during the immune reaction to gluten. Testing both antibody types matters because some patients have IgA deficiency, a condition that would make an IgA-only test falsely negative despite genuinely having celiac disease.
At Altus Lab, we recommend this test for anyone with unexplained chronic digestive symptoms, unexplained iron deficiency anaemia, or a family history of celiac disease, since early diagnosis allows dietary intervention before significant intestinal damage accumulates.
Anti-Endomysial Antibody (EMA IgA)
The Anti-Endomysial Antibody test detects antibodies against endomysium, connective tissue surrounding muscle fibres, and serves as one of the most specific confirmatory tests available for celiac disease. While highly accurate, this test requires more specialised laboratory technique than tTG testing, making it typically used as a confirmatory step rather than initial screening.
Doctors usually order this test when tTG results come back positive or borderline, since EMA testing helps confirm the diagnosis with greater certainty before committing a patient to a lifelong gluten-free diet, a significant lifestyle change that deserves diagnostic confidence beforehand.
At Altus Lab, we process EMA testing as a follow-up confirmation for positive or ambiguous tTG results, ensuring your doctor has robust evidence before finalising a celiac disease diagnosis, particularly important given how significantly this diagnosis changes a patient’s daily life going forward.
Deamidated Gliadin Peptide (DGP) IgA & IgG
DGP antibody testing detects antibodies against a modified form of gliadin, a component of gluten, and plays a particularly valuable role in specific situations where tTG testing alone might miss the diagnosis, most notably in young children under 2 years old, where DGP testing often shows superior accuracy.
This test also becomes useful for the small subset of patients who show clinical symptoms strongly suggestive of celiac disease yet test negative on tTG antibodies, since DGP occasionally catches cases that other celiac antibody tests miss, particularly when IgA deficiency complicates the picture.
At Altus Lab, we recommend DGP testing alongside tTG for young children being evaluated for celiac disease, and as an additional test for older patients with strong clinical suspicion despite negative initial screening, ensuring genuine celiac disease doesn’t go undiagnosed due to test limitations.
Stool Routine Examination & Microscopy
Stool Routine and Microscopy remains one of the most informative first-step tests in gastroenterology. This test examines your stool’s physical characteristics and microscopic content, revealing signs of infection, inflammation, parasites, blood, and undigested food particles, all from a single sample.
Doctors frequently order this test as an early step whenever digestive symptoms arise, since abnormal findings here often guide which follow-up tests make sense next. For example, visible parasites might prompt targeted antiparasitic treatment, while inflammatory cells might suggest further investigation into infectious or inflammatory causes.
Because this test is quick, affordable, and requires no special preparation, it forms a practical starting point for nearly every digestive workup. At Altus Lab, our microscopy is performed by trained technicians under pathologist supervision, ensuring subtle findings are never overlooked.
Stool Culture & Sensitivity
Stool Culture and Sensitivity identifies exactly which bacteria are causing a gastrointestinal infection, and just as importantly, which antibiotics will actually work against that specific organism. This distinguishes it from routine stool examination, which can only suggest that an infection might be present without identifying the specific culprit.
Doctors order this test for patients with persistent diarrhoea, especially bloody diarrhoea, high fever alongside digestive symptoms, or diarrhoea that hasn’t improved with initial treatment. Without culture results, doctors are essentially guessing which antibiotic to prescribe, risking both treatment failure and unnecessary antibiotic resistance.
This test takes slightly longer than routine stool examination, typically 48 to 72 hours, since bacteria need time to grow in the laboratory. At Altus Lab, we follow strict collection protocols to ensure your culture results accurately reflect what is genuinely happening in your gut.
Stool for Occult Blood (Immunochemical FOB)
The Immunochemical Faecal Occult Blood test detects tiny amounts of blood in stool that are completely invisible to the naked eye, often the earliest detectable sign of conditions ranging from minor issues like haemorrhoids to more serious concerns like polyps or early colorectal cancer.
This immunochemical version offers a genuine advantage over older occult blood tests, since it specifically detects human haemoglobin without requiring dietary restrictions beforehand, unlike older guaiac-based tests that could produce false positives from dietary red meat or certain vegetables.
At Altus Lab, we recommend this test as part of routine colorectal cancer screening for adults over 45, and for anyone with unexplained iron deficiency anaemia or a family history of colorectal cancer, since catching early warning signs genuinely improves outcomes when concerning findings are addressed promptly.
Food Intolerance Panel (IgG – 96/220 Foods)
The Food Intolerance Panel measures IgG antibody reactions against a broad range of common foods, available in both a 96-food and more comprehensive 220-food version, helping identify specific foods that may be contributing to chronic digestive discomfort, bloating, or other persistent symptoms not explained by other testing.
This test differs importantly from true food allergy testing, which measures IgE antibodies and identifies immediate, sometimes dangerous reactions. IgG-based food intolerance testing instead looks at delayed sensitivity patterns, which many patients find helpful for guiding elimination diet trials under professional guidance.
At Altus Lab, we offer both panel sizes to suit different budgets and needs, recommending this test for patients with chronic, unexplained digestive symptoms who have already ruled out celiac disease and major infections, since identifying trigger foods can meaningfully improve quality of life through targeted dietary adjustment.
How to Book Digestive & Celiac Testing at Altus Lab
Booking any of these tests, individually or as a combined panel, takes just a few minutes. Call or WhatsApp our team to discuss which tests your doctor has recommended, or share your prescription directly and we will confirm the right combination for you.
📞 Call: 0172-5017001 / 0172-5017002
💬 WhatsApp: +91-62842-14977
📍 SCO 35, Sector 16-D, Chandigarh
🕐 Open 7 Days: 7:30 AM – 9:30 PM
Home sample collection is available across Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula for blood-based tests.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Should I get H. pylori antibody testing or stool antigen testing first?
Antibody testing works well as an initial screen, but stool antigen testing confirms active infection and is essential for verifying successful treatment afterward, since antibodies can remain elevated long after the infection clears.
2. Do I need to be eating gluten for celiac antibody testing to be accurate?
Yes. You must continue eating gluten-containing foods regularly before and during celiac antibody testing, since stopping gluten beforehand can cause falsely negative results.
3. Why would I need both tTG and DGP testing?
DGP testing catches some cases that tTG testing misses, particularly in young children and in IgA-deficient patients, making the combination more reliable than either test alone.
4. Is fasting required before stool testing?
No fasting is required for stool routine, culture, or occult blood testing. However, certain foods and medications may need to be avoided beforehand — confirm specific instructions when booking.
5. Can food intolerance testing diagnose a food allergy?
No. This IgG-based test identifies possible food sensitivities contributing to delayed symptoms, which is different from IgE-based allergy testing that identifies immediate, potentially severe reactions.
6. How accurate is the immunochemical occult blood test?
This test is significantly more specific than older occult blood tests, since it detects human haemoglobin directly without interference from dietary factors, reducing false positive results.
7. Do I need a doctor’s referral for celiac antibody testing?
While walk-in testing is available, we recommend discussing symptoms with your doctor first, since a positive result typically leads to further evaluation, including a possible intestinal biopsy for definitive diagnosis.
8. Who supervises these tests at Altus Lab?
All digestive and celiac panels are supervised by Dr. Alok Gupta, MD Pathology, Ex-PGIMER Chandigarh, ensuring accurate, clinically reviewed reporting for every patient.