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Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders
Molly Duffy1, Victoria L Boggiano1, Ravindra Ganesh2
1Department of Family Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 590 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA.
Abstract:
Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) are an extremely common set of more than 50 disorders characterized by persistent and recurring gastrointestinal symptoms. Most of these patients can be diagnosed and managed by primary care physicians. Treatment includes patient education and reassurance, eliminating triggers, dietary modification, and pharmacologic management. Primary care physicians should consider referral to gastroenterologists when patients exhibit red flag symptoms such as blood in stool, abnormal laboratory findings, involuntary weight loss, age of presentation greater than 50 years, or certain concerning family history.
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