OBJECTIVE: The current recommendation that irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) should be diagnosed positively using minimum investigation raises the possibility that some disorders, particularly gynecological, may be overlooked. Transabdominal ultrasound is now sufficiently sophisticated to allow assessment of all abdominal viscera for associated pathology, and this study was designed to evaluate its role in the diagnosis of IBS. METHODS: An ultrasound scan was performed in 125 patients (100 females, 25 males) for whom a confident diagnosis of IBS had been made. RESULTS: No serious intra-abdominal pathology was encountered, but 20% of females and 8% of males had an ultrasound abnormality. None of these abnormalities resulted in any additional therapeutic measures. A hepatobiliary abnormality was found in similar proportions of males and females (10 vs 8%). Gallstones were most common (5 vs 4%), but in no individual were they considered to entirely account for the presenting symptoms. Eight percent of the women were found to have a pelvic abnormality, but it was not regarded as serious in any of them. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms that a positive approach to diagnosing IBS is a safe policy. Furthermore, routine ultrasound scanning in IBS is unnecessary and could be counter-productive by detecting many minor abnormalities, which can pose further therapeutic dilemmas.
OBJECTIVE: The current recommendation that irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) should be diagnosed positively using minimum investigation raises the possibility that some disorders, particularly gynecological, may be overlooked. Transabdominal ultrasound is now sufficiently sophisticated to allow assessment of all abdominal viscera for associated pathology, and this study was designed to evaluate its role in the diagnosis of IBS. METHODS: An ultrasound scan was performed in 125 patients (100 females, 25 males) for whom a confident diagnosis of IBS had been made. RESULTS: No serious intra-abdominal pathology was encountered, but 20% of females and 8% of males had an ultrasound abnormality. None of these abnormalities resulted in any additional therapeutic measures. A hepatobiliary abnormality was found in similar proportions of males and females (10 vs 8%). Gallstones were most common (5 vs 4%), but in no individual were they considered to entirely account for the presenting symptoms. Eight percent of the women were found to have a pelvic abnormality, but it was not regarded as serious in any of them. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms that a positive approach to diagnosing IBS is a safe policy. Furthermore, routine ultrasound scanning in IBS is unnecessary and could be counter-productive by detecting many minor abnormalities, which can pose further therapeutic dilemmas.
Authors: J Jones; J Boorman; P Cann; A Forbes; J Gomborone; K Heaton; P Hungin; D Kumar; G Libby; R Spiller; N Read; D Silk; P Whorwell Journal: Gut Date: 2000-11 Impact factor: 23.059
Authors: William D Chey; Borko Nojkov; Joel H Rubenstein; Richard R Dobhan; Joel K Greenson; Brooks D Cash Journal: Am J Gastroenterol Date: 2010-02-23 Impact factor: 10.864
Authors: Giovanni Maconi; Trygve Hausken; Christoph F Dietrich; Nadia Pallotta; Ioan Sporea; Dieter Nurnberg; Klaus Dirks; Laura Romanini; Carla Serra; Barbara Braden; Zeno Sparchez; Odd Helge Gilja Journal: Ultrasound Int Open Date: 2021-05-28