The irritable bowel syndrome--a study from private practice

The clinical features of 150 consecutive patients with irritable bowel syndrome are reported. All patients were referred to a private practice. There was a marked female preponderance and a wide range of ages. Diarrhoea was predominant in 61,3%. The common symptoms were altered bowel habit, abdominal pain, emotional disturbance, flatulence and distension. Fatigue, weight loss, upper gastrointestinal symptoms, backache and urinary symptoms were frequent. The rectum showed nonspecific loss of vascular pattern, oedema and congestion in 11,4% of patients, but this was readily distinguished from inflammatory bowel disease on histological examination. The incidence of non-smokers in the group was 78,1%. The overall appendicectomy rate was 34%, and 65% of the 92 women had had gynaecological operations. A positive diagnosis was made on a typical history and simple basic investigations. More extensive investigations were required for those patients with markers of organic disease, but these yielded few associated lesions.