Irritable bowel syndrome: How to improve decision making in clinical practice

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a highly prevalent functional disorder, characterised by the presence of recurrent abdominal pain associated with changes in bowel habits. Its physiopathology is complex, its clinical manifestations are diverse, and the therapeutic possibilities are multiple and not well known. In clinical practice, the diagnosis of IBS represents an important challenge; this means that in many cases the patients do not receive the proper diagnosis, which implies an absence of a targeted treatment, and therefore bad symptomatic control. In this article, the fundamental questions posed by the doctor when dealing with a patient with symptoms compatible with IBS are presented chronologically. The main objective is to provide clinical and eminently practical information that facilitates the management of patients with IBS, from both diagnostic and therapeutic points of view.