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UCLA Health - How to use the Digitrapper™ recorder & diary | UCLA Health

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Author: UCLA Health
Categories: Health Nutrition
Tags: health, nutrition
Views: 2 · Last viewed: 2026-10-16 14:44 UTC

Short Summary

Main recommendation: Use the Digitrapper recorder and paper diary exactly as instructed during your catheter-based pH study for acid reflux, marking meals, lying down, symptoms, and anti-acid medication so the test captures accurate data. The video explains how to press each button on the recorder, when to fill in the diary, and the eating and drinking rules to follow during the study.

Key Points

  • The catheter is inserted through one nostril, down the throat, and into the esophagus, where it detects acid rising from the stomach and sends the data to the recorder you wear for the study.
  • Some throat soreness from the catheter is normal, and after the study you must return to the office to return the recorder and have the catheter removed.
  • The diary is only for events you failed to log on the recorder and for the type of symptom you had; it is not a food journal.
  • The recorder must stay dry, so you cannot shower during the study.

Details Worth Noting

  • Concrete instructions:
    • Meals: press the fork and knife button when a meal starts (light stays on) and press it again when the meal ends (light turns off).
    • Lying down: press the bed button when you lie down at a 45-degree angle or less (light stays on) and press it again when you get up (light turns off).
    • Symptoms: press the heart and lightning bolt button once each time a symptom starts. Symptoms include heartburn, non-continuous chest pain, coughing, burping, burning, regurgitation, or feeling food or liquid coming back up. Your nurse will confirm which symptoms to assign to the button.
    • Anti-acid medication (only if your doctor said to continue it): press the capsule button once per dose of acid-suppressing medication. Do not press it for other medications.
    • Eating: eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, including foods that normally cause your symptoms. Do not snack, sip liquids all day, chew gum, or suck hard candy. Any food or drink other than water between meals counts as a meal, even a small amount, so record it as one.
    • Diary, missed meal or lying-down entry: write the start time and check "meal start"; write the end time and check "meal ends." For lying down, check "supine start" and "supine end."
    • Diary, missed medication: write the time taken and check the "Med Rx" box.
    • Diary, symptom: press the symptom button when it starts and also write the start time and check the matching symptom box; if none fits, check "other" and describe it in the comments.
    • If the catheter comes out of your nose, do not reinsert it; return to the office with the equipment during normal business hours.
  • When the study ends the recorder turns off automatically; return it as soon as possible to the UCLA unit where you received it.
  • The video is an instructional overview and does not replace the specific guidance from your care team.

Bottom Line

Accurate button presses and diary entries during the study are what make the pH results useful, so follow the eating, lying-down, and symptom steps closely and keep the recorder dry.