Diagnosing the Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Authors: Bob Badgett
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1992)

Letters15 December 1992Diagnosing the Irritable Bowel SyndromeBob Badgett, MDBob Badgett, MDSearch for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-117-12-1056 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptTo the Editors: The two recent reviews of the irritable bowel syndrome (1, 2) are very helpful. However, both state that sigmoidoscopy is necessary in all patients to rule out organic disorders. As noted by Dr. Drossman, 15% to 20% of the population has the irritable bowel syndrome (2). Does sufficient evidence exist to warrant that many sigmoidoscopies? We could limit sigmoidoscopies to the one third of patients who seek medical care, but this limitation has no pathophysiologic basis.Kruis and colleagues (3) compared "gold standard" upper and lower endoscopies with a noninvasive diagnostic score derived from weighted clinical variables....References1. Camilleri M and Prather C. The irritable bowel syndrome: mechanisms and a practical approach to management. Ann Intern Med. 1992;116:1001-8. LinkGoogle Scholar2. Drossman D and Thompson W. The irritable bowel syndrome: review and a graduated multicomponent treatment approach. Ann Intern Med. 1992;116:1009-16. LinkGoogle Scholar3. Kruis W, Thieme C, Weinzierl M, Schussler P, Holl J, and Paulus W. A diagnostic score for the irritable bowel syndrome. Gastroenterology. 1984;87:1-7. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar1. Camilleri M and Prather C. The irritable bowel syndrome: mechanisms and a practical approach to management. Ann Intern Med. 1992;116:1001-8. LinkGoogle Scholar2. Manning A, Thompson W, Heaton K, and Morris A. Towards positive diagnosis of the irritable bowel syndrome. Br Med J. 1978; 2:653-4. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Smith R, Greenbaum D, and Vancouver J. Gender differences in Manning criteria in the irritable bowel syndrome. Gastroenterology. 1991;100:591-5. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Smith R, Greenbaum D, and Vancouver J. Psychosocial factors are associated with health care seeking rather than diagnosis in irritable bowel syndrome. Gastroenterology. 1990;98:293-301. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar1. Drossman D. Diagnosis of the irritable bowel syndrome. A simple solution? Gastroenterology. 1984;87:224-5. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Frigerio G, Beretta A, Orsenigo G, Tadeo G, Imperiali G, and Minoli G. Irritable bowel syndrome: still far from a positive diagnosis. Dig Dis Sci. 1992;37:164-7. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Bob Badgett, MDAffiliations: University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, TX 78284 PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byDiagnosis of irritable bowel syndromeLetter to the editor 15 December 1992Volume 117, Issue 12Page: 1056-1057KeywordsEndoscopyIrritable bowel syndrome ePublished: 1 December 2008 Issue Published: 15 December 1992 PDF downloadLoading ...