Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Basics
Description
Description
- Syndrome of abdominal pain associated with altered bowel habits and no other pathology explaining symptoms
- Prevalence estimated to be 10–20%
Etiology
Etiology
- Uncertain pathophysiology, but many possibilities
- Altered GI motility:
- Increased gut sensitivity (visceral hyperalgesia):
- Exaggerated response to normal GI physiology
- Increased gut sensitivity (visceral hyperalgesia):
- Mucosal inflammation:
- Postinfectious:
- Prevalence of IBS after Giardia lamblia infection above 40%
- Postinfectious:
- Mucosal lymphocyte infiltration
- Altered microflora in small bowel or feces
- Food sensitivity is a possibility but not proven
- Psychosocial dysfunction:
- More anxiety, somatoform disorders, and history of abuse in patients who seek care
- No evidence of increased psychiatric illness in those who do not seek care
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Citation
Schaider, Jeffrey J., et al., editors. "Irritable Bowel Syndrome." 5-Minute Emergency Consult, 6th ed., Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2020. Emergency Central, emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307705/5.0/Irritable_Bowel_Syndrome.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome. In: Schaider JJJ, Barkin RMR, Hayden SRS, et al, eds. 5-Minute Emergency Consult. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2020. https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307705/5.0/Irritable_Bowel_Syndrome. Accessed January 11, 2025.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome. (2020). In Schaider, J. J., Barkin, R. M., Hayden, S. R., Wolfe, R. E., Barkin, A. Z., Shayne, P., & Rosen, P. (Eds.), 5-Minute Emergency Consult (6th ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307705/5.0/Irritable_Bowel_Syndrome
Irritable Bowel Syndrome [Internet]. In: Schaider JJJ, Barkin RMR, Hayden SRS, Wolfe RER, Barkin AZA, Shayne PP, Rosen PP, editors. 5-Minute Emergency Consult. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2020. [cited 2025 January 11]. Available from: https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307705/5.0/Irritable_Bowel_Syndrome.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
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ED - Hayden,Stephen R,
ED - Wolfe,Richard E,
BT - 5-Minute Emergency Consult
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