Key TakeawaysResearchers have released new guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of IBS.The goal is to shorten the time to diagnosis and help get patients the right treatment faster.The guidelines include recommendations for diagnostic testing and therapeutic treatments.

Key Takeaways

Researchers have released new guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of IBS.The goal is to shorten the time to diagnosis and help get patients the right treatment faster.The guidelines include recommendations for diagnostic testing and therapeutic treatments.

The American College of Gastroenterology has published its first-ever clinical guidelines to help manage patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The new guidelines include clinical recommendations for diagnostic testing and therapeutic treatments for IBS.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Diet: Foods to Eat and What to Limit

The new guidelines published on December 14 in theAmerican Journal of Gastroenterology, identify 25 important questions that doctors frequently ask patients. It then uses the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach to evaluating the data. The hope, the guideline authors wrote, is to help get better, more targeted care to patients with IBS.

These aren’t the first-ever guidelines on how to care for patients with IBS—those came out in 2014, guidelines co-authorDarren Brenner, MD,a gastroenterologist at the Digestive Health Center at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, tells Verywell. However, this is the first time the GRADE system has been used. “This is a high-level advanced methodology to assess the rigor of clinical trials that have been done to date,” he says.

What This Means For YouIf you struggle with IBS-like symptoms, talk to your doctor about the new guidelines and what they mean for you. These guidelines could potentially help you get a proper diagnosis quickly.

What This Means For You

If you struggle with IBS-like symptoms, talk to your doctor about the new guidelines and what they mean for you. These guidelines could potentially help you get a proper diagnosis quickly.

New Guidelines

The guidelines specify treatments and diagnostic studies that may be helpful for any particular patient, Brenner explains. “We’re hoping it will streamline the process for practitioners and shorten the time to appropriate therapy for patients,” he says.

The guidelines include the following, and more:

10 Things to Stop Doing When You Have IBS

The guidelines also give recommendations on the types of treatments that may be more effective than others. “We want to give the treatments that will work best, and we say what is unlikely to work for a profile as well,” Brenner says.

Current treatment for IBS typically includes changes in diet and lifestyle habits, probiotics, mental health therapies, and certain medications to treat diarrhea, constipation, or abdominal pain.

The challenge, Farhadi says, is whether medical professionals will actually start to use these guidelines. “Whether they will take advantage of this or shelve it, that needs to be seen,” he says.

Brenner hopes the guidelines will help improve the quality of life for people who struggle with IBS. “Quality of life is linked to symptoms,” he says. “If we can better treat them and give better evidence-based treatment, it will significantly improve quality of life.”

4 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Lacy B, Pimentel M, Brenner D et al.ACG clinical guideline.American Journal of Gastroenterology. 2020;Publish Ahead of Print. doi:10.14309/ajg.0000000000001036National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms and causes of irritable bowel syndrome.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome.

4 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Lacy B, Pimentel M, Brenner D et al.ACG clinical guideline.American Journal of Gastroenterology. 2020;Publish Ahead of Print. doi:10.14309/ajg.0000000000001036National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms and causes of irritable bowel syndrome.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Lacy B, Pimentel M, Brenner D et al.ACG clinical guideline.American Journal of Gastroenterology. 2020;Publish Ahead of Print. doi:10.14309/ajg.0000000000001036National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms and causes of irritable bowel syndrome.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome.

Lacy B, Pimentel M, Brenner D et al.ACG clinical guideline.American Journal of Gastroenterology. 2020;Publish Ahead of Print. doi:10.14309/ajg.0000000000001036

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms and causes of irritable bowel syndrome.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome.

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