Guidelines on the irritable bowel syndrome: mechanisms and practical management.

ABSTRACT:

Background

IBS affects 5-11% of the population of most countries. Prevalence peaks in the third and fourth decades, with a female predominance.

Aim

To provide a guide for the assessment and management of adult patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

Methods

Members of the Clinical Services Committee of The British Society of Gastroenterology were allocated particular areas to produce review documents. Literature searching included systematic searches using electronic databases such as Pubmed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases and extensive personal reference databases.

Results

Patients can usefully be classified by predominant bowel habit. Few investigations are needed except when diarrhoea is a prominent feature. Alarm features may warran

SUBMITTER: Spiller R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2095723 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature