A European Approach to Irritable Bowel Syndrome Management
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is characterized by a number of clinical features and probably comprises a cluster of different conditions. The most frequent symptom reported by IBS patients is abdominal pain, although for a number of patients, bowel disturbances are the most prominent symptoms. Diar...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
1999-01-01
|
| Series: | Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/1999/314165 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is characterized by a
number of clinical features and probably comprises a cluster of different
conditions. The most frequent symptom reported by IBS
patients is abdominal pain, although for a number of patients,
bowel disturbances are the most prominent symptoms. Diarrhetic
patients are seen in referral centres in continental Europe less frequently
than in the United Kingdom or the United States. On the
contrary, patients with constipation-prone IBS may comprise up
to 80% of the IBS population referred to these centres. The
pathophysiology of IBS is based on multiple factors. Most of the
therapeutics proposed for the management of patients with IBS
have been developed on the assumption that motility disorders of
the gut are the most reliable pathological findings among these patients.
Consequently, antispasmodics and motility regulatory
agents have been widely used, alone or in association with intestinal
adsorbents (clay-derived preparations), and laxatives or
antidiarrhetic agents. Most of these drugs were developed several
decades ago, and studies showing their efficacy have not reached
the level of quality that is now required of randomized controlled
trials. Therefore, following a complete and detailed review published
in 1989, these drugs have not been used extensively in the
United Kingdom or the United States. Large inquiries have also
shown that the duration of prescription is quite different among
countries. In European countries, maintenance therapy is frequently
prescribed for several weeks to attempt to decrease the
number of acute episodes. In contrast, psychotropic drugs are less
popular among European gastroenterologists than among American
gastroenterologists. However, multidisciplinary approaches to
the treatment of these patients are frequent, and such drugs are often
prescribed by home physicians. The results of large surveys estimated
the yearly cost of such treatments to be around US$850.
Patients with constipation and elderly patients with chronic disease
receive more expensive treatments. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0835-7900 |