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Knowledge and practices of primary care physicians or general practitioners treating post-infectious Irritable Bowel
Erika Austhof1, Kenzie Schaefer2,3, Jaime Faulkner3
1Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of Arizona, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, 1295 N Martin Ave, PO Box 245211, Tucson, 85721, AZ, USA. barrette@email.arizona.edu.
Background:
Post-infectious Irritable Bowel Syndrome (PI-IBS) is a functional bowel disorder which has significant impacts to a patient's quality of life. No IBS-specific biomarker or treatment regimen for PI-IBS currently exists, therefore understanding practice patterns and variance is of interest.
Methods:
This online survey of primary care physicians and general practitioners in the USA aimed to understand the knowledge and treatment of PI-IBS within the physician's current practice. Summary statistics are provided with a commentary on implications for practices and treatment of PI-IBS.
Results:
Most physician survey respondents (n = 50) were aware of PI-IBS, but less than half discussed this condition as a possible outcome in their patients with a recent gastrointestinal infection. Most physicians indicated that they would treat the patients themselves with a focus on managing IBS through different treatment modalities based on severity. Treatment for PI-IBS followed IBS recommendations, but most physicians also prescribed a probiotic for therapy. Physicians estimated that 4 out of 10 patients who develop PI-IBS will have life-long symptoms and described significant impacts to their patient's quality of life. Additionally, physicians estimated a significant financial burden for PI-IBS patients, ranging from $100-1000 (USD) over the course of their illness. Most physicians agreed that they would use a risk score to predict the probability of their patients developing PI-IBS, if available.
Conclusions:
While this survey is limited due to sample size, physician knowledge and treatment of PI-IBS was consistent across respondents. Overall, the physicians identified significant impacts to patient's quality of life due to PI-IBS.
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