irritable bowel syndrome -...

1
Pulse September 2017 Irritable bowel syndrome Professor Ingvar Bjarnason, consultant gastroenterologist, offers his quick guide to diagnosing and managing IBS Features: Recurrent abdominal pain or discomfort at least three days a month in the past three months plus two of the following: Improvement with defaecation Change in frequency of bowel openings Change in form or appearance of stool (diarrhoea-constipation) There are various sub-categories of IBS associated with hypermobility syndromes (Ehlers Danlos), IBS developing following food infection syndromes (post-infectious IBS) etc. Some patients, especially those on statins and retrovirals, associate their IBS-like symptoms with treatment. At present, treatment for the symptoms experienced according to the ‘cause’ of IBS do not differ and are tailored, apart from withdrawing medication that may contribute to symptoms. Differential diagnosis Short history: food infections, diverticulitis, appendicitis, salpingitis Longer history: inflammatory bowel disease, diverticular disease, colorectal cancer, diabetic diarrhoea (including diarrhoea due to metformin), side-effects of medication, pancreatic insufficiency, coeliac diseae, endometriosis, period pains etc. Beware of any patient with ‘red flag symptoms’ (pr bleeding, weight loss, abnormal screening tests etc.). IBS can mimic any gastrointestinal disease Associated symptoms – these may be continuous or intermittent Intestinal Abdominal bloating or distension Feeling of incomplete evacuation of stools Mucus in stool Specific food intolerances Extra-intestinal Headaches Muscular complaints, including fibromyalgia Non-inflammatory joint and back pain Menstrual irregularities Urinary tract symptoms, pain on voiding, increased frequency of voiding Sexual dysfunction Tiredness Investigations Invasive investigations are usually unnecessary before starting treatment in primary care, provided that: Full blood count is normal Basic biochemistry, including CRP and ESR, is normal Faecal calprotectin is normal Stool microbiology microscopy and cultures may be indicated Serum transglutaminase should be undertaken for all patients NB These tests should be normal in IBS, but there are many reasons why test results are somewhat abnormal: 1 ESR and CRP are not GI specific. 2 A calprotectin value less than 200 (normal less than 60) does not automatically require invasive investigation – 15% of patients with IBS have slightly raised calprotectins Pulse September 2017 This Pulse chart has been commissioned and produced completely indepenently of any commercial or outside influence Referral to specialist gastroenterology centers Bear in mind that most gastroenterologists consider that management of IBS should be GP-led within primary care Gastroenterologists are happy to investigate patients with IBS but only a few hospitals have dedicated IBS treatment clinics. The most severely affected patients with IBS may benefit from referral to these dedicated clinics Conventional Laxatives (fibre, osmotic agents, stimulants, etc.), constipants (loperamide, codeine phosphate, etc.), antispasmotics (mebeverine, buscopan), peppermint, amitriptyline or other antidepressants, anxiolytics Modern day – multifactorial approach Dietary advice – consider lactose free diet, gluten free diet, low FODMAP, elimination diet with re-introduction of foods. Low FODMAPS and a wheat free diet help mostly in patients with bloating and diarrhoea Dairy free diet is not indicated for IBS patients with constipation, but might help diarrhoea and bloating Probiotics – Symprove, Align, VSL-3 (unproven efficacy in IBS). Probiotics help with abdominal pain and diarrhoea/constipation Different types of probiotics have different benefits and need to be tailored to symptoms Psychiatric anxiety/stress – reduction, lifestyle management by CBT Recommended (NHS) number of CBT sessions is 10, although most IBS patients with moderately severe anxiety will achieve maximum benefit from 20-40 sessions Common sense – eat regularly, eat slowly, take exercise, maintain high fluid intake, cut down on alcohol, coffee and tea. Follow up Review yearly to assess: Lifestyle issues – stress, anxiety, etc. Encourage moderation of caffeine and alcohol intake, smoking, etc. Consider repeating calprotectin test for reassurance in the very anxious patients concerned about new symptoms – do not get overexcited about mildly elevated levels of 50-200mcg/g Supplementary treatment for extra-intestinal complaints Direct patients to IBS support groups that are accessible via the internet Professor Ingvar Bjarnason is a consultant gastroenterologist at King’s College Hospital Treatment A holistic approach is important The various forms of IBS – conventional IBS, post-infective IBS, IBS associated with hypermobility syndromes – are all treated in the same way A realistic expectation is to anticipate a 70% improvement in 70% of patients. There is absolutely no cure. Tailor the treatment to the symptoms Patients with IBS and multiple unexplained symptoms frequently think that they have the ‘leaky gut’ syndrome, whereby increased intestinal permeability is postulated to allow absorption of bacterial toxins. This is a myth and intestinal permeability testing can confirm this

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Page 1: Irritable bowel syndrome - d1c7lpjmvlh0qr.cloudfront.netd1c7lpjmvlh0qr.cloudfront.net/uploads/b/p/x/Pulse-IBS.pdf · Some patients, especially those on statins and retrovirals, associate

Pulse September 2017

Irri

tab

le b

ow

el s

yn

dro

me

Pro

fess

or

Ing

var

Bja

rnaso

n, c

on

sult

an

t g

ast

roen

tero

log

ist,

off

ers

his

qu

ick g

uid

e t

o d

iag

no

sin

g a

nd

man

ag

ing

IBS

Fe

atu

res:

Recu

rren

t ab

do

min

al p

ain

or

dis

co

mfo

rt a

t le

ast

th

ree d

ays

a m

on

th in

th

e p

ast

th

ree m

on

ths

plu

s tw

o o

f th

e fo

llow

ing

:•

Imp

rovem

en

t w

ith

defa

ecati

on

• C

han

ge in

fre

qu

en

cy o

f b

ow

el o

pen

ing

s •

Ch

an

ge in

fo

rm o

r ap

peara

nce o

f st

oo

l (d

iarr

ho

ea-c

on

stip

ati

on

)

Th

ere

are

vari

ou

s su

b-c

ate

go

ries

of IB

S a

sso

cia

ted

wit

h h

yp

erm

ob

ility

sy

nd

rom

es

(Eh

lers

Dan

los)

, IB

S d

evelo

pin

g fo

llow

ing

fo

od

infe

cti

on

syn

dro

mes

(po

st-i

nfe

cti

ou

s IB

S)

etc

. So

me p

ati

en

ts, e

specia

lly t

ho

se o

n s

tati

ns

an

d

retr

ovir

als

, ass

ocia

te t

heir

IBS

-lik

e s

ym

pto

ms

wit

h t

reatm

en

t. A

t p

rese

nt,

tr

eatm

en

t fo

r th

e s

ym

pto

ms

exp

eri

en

ced

acco

rdin

g t

o t

he ‘c

au

se’ o

f IB

S d

o n

ot

dif

fer

an

d a

re t

ailo

red

, ap

art

fro

m w

ith

dra

win

g m

ed

icati

on

th

at

may c

on

trib

ute

to

sym

pto

ms.

Dif

fere

nti

al d

iag

no

sis

• S

ho

rt h

isto

ry: f

oo

d in

fecti

on

s, d

ivert

icu

litis

, ap

pen

dic

itis

, salp

ing

itis

• Lo

ng

er

his

tory

: in

flam

mato

ry b

ow

el d

isease

, div

ert

icu

lar

dis

ease

, co

lore

cta

l can

cer, d

iab

eti

c d

iarr

ho

ea (

inclu

din

g d

iarr

ho

ea d

ue t

o m

etf

orm

in),

sid

e-e

ffects

of m

ed

icati

on

, pan

cre

ati

c in

suffi

cie

ncy,

co

elia

c d

iseae, e

nd

om

etr

iosi

s, p

eri

od

p

ain

s etc

.•

Bew

are

of any p

ati

en

t w

ith

‘red

flag

sym

pto

ms’

(p

r b

leed

ing

, weig

ht

loss

, ab

no

rmal s

cre

en

ing

test

s etc

.). I

BS

can

mim

ic a

ny g

ast

roin

test

inal d

isease

Ass

oc

iate

d s

ym

pto

ms

– th

ese

ma

y b

e c

on

tin

uo

us

or

inte

rmit

ten

t

Intestinal

• A

bd

om

inal b

loati

ng

or

dis

ten

sio

n•

Feelin

g o

f in

co

mp

lete

evacu

ati

on

of st

oo

ls•

Mu

cu

s in

sto

ol

• S

pecifi

c fo

od

into

lera

nces

Extra-intestinal

• H

ead

ach

es

• M

usc

ula

r co

mp

lain

ts, i

nclu

din

g fi

bro

myalg

ia•

No

n-i

nfl

am

mato

ry jo

int

an

d b

ack p

ain

• M

en

stru

al i

rreg

ula

riti

es

• U

rin

ary

tra

ct

sym

pto

ms,

pain

on

vo

idin

g, i

ncre

ase

d fre

qu

en

cy o

f vo

idin

g•

Sexu

al d

ysf

un

cti

on

• T

ired

ness

Inv

est

iga

tio

ns

• In

vasi

ve in

vest

igati

on

s are

usu

ally

un

necess

ary

befo

re s

tart

ing

tre

atm

en

t in

p

rim

ary

care

, pro

vid

ed

th

at:

• F

ull

blo

od

co

un

t is

no

rmal

• B

asi

c b

ioch

em

istr

y, in

clu

din

g C

RP

an

d E

SR

, is

no

rmal

• F

aecal c

alp

rote

cti

n is

no

rmal

• S

too

l mic

rob

iolo

gy m

icro

sco

py a

nd

cu

ltu

res

may b

e in

dic

ate

d

• S

eru

m t

ran

sglu

tam

inase

sh

ou

ld b

e u

nd

ert

ake

n fo

r all

pati

en

ts

NB

Th

ese

test

s sh

ou

ld b

e n

orm

al i

n IB

S, b

ut

there

are

many r

easo

ns

why t

est

resu

lts

are

so

mew

hat

ab

no

rmal:

1 E

SR

an

d C

RP

are

no

t G

I sp

ecifi

c.

2 A

calp

rote

cti

n v

alu

e le

ss t

han

20

0 (

no

rmal l

ess

th

an

60

) d

oes

no

t au

tom

ati

cally

req

uir

e in

vasi

ve in

vest

igati

on

– 15

% o

f p

ati

en

ts w

ith

IBS

have

slig

htl

y rais

ed

calp

rote

cti

ns

Sept 2017 IBS pull-out flowchart_v3Y.indd 4 23/08/2017 19:51

Pulse September 2017

This Pulse chart has been commissioned and produced completely indepenently of any commercial or outside influence

Re

ferr

al t

o s

pe

cia

list

ga

stro

en

tero

log

y c

en

ters

• B

ear

in m

ind

th

at

mo

st g

ast

roen

tero

log

ists

co

nsi

der

that

man

ag

em

en

t o

f IB

S

sho

uld

be G

P-l

ed

wit

hin

pri

mary

care

• G

ast

roen

tero

log

ists

are

hap

py t

o in

vest

igate

pati

en

ts w

ith

IBS

bu

t o

nly

a few

h

osp

itals

have d

ed

icate

d IB

S t

reatm

en

t clin

ics.

• T

he m

ost

severe

ly a

ffecte

d p

ati

en

ts w

ith

IBS

may b

en

efi

t fr

om

refe

rral t

o t

hese

d

ed

icate

d c

linic

s

Co

nv

en

tio

na

lL

axati

ves

(fib

re, o

smo

tic a

gen

ts,

stim

ula

nts

, etc

.), c

on

stip

an

ts

(lo

pera

mid

e, c

od

ein

e p

ho

sph

ate

, etc

.),

an

tisp

asm

oti

cs

(meb

everi

ne,

bu

sco

pan

), p

ep

perm

int,

am

itri

pty

line

or

oth

er

an

tid

ep

ress

an

ts, a

nxio

lyti

cs

Mo

de

rn d

ay

– m

ult

ifa

cto

ria

l ap

pro

ac

hD

ieta

ry a

dv

ice –

co

nsi

der

lacto

se fre

e d

iet,

glu

ten

fre

e d

iet,

low

FO

DM

AP, e

limin

ati

on

die

t w

ith

re-i

ntr

od

ucti

on

of fo

od

s.•

Lo

w F

OD

MA

PS

an

d a

wh

eat

free d

iet

help

mo

stly

in p

ati

en

ts w

ith

blo

ati

ng

an

d d

iarr

ho

ea

• D

air

y fre

e d

iet

is n

ot

ind

icate

d fo

r IB

S p

ati

en

ts w

ith

co

nst

ipati

on

, bu

t m

igh

t h

elp

dia

rrh

oea a

nd

blo

ati

ng

Pro

bio

tics

– S

ym

pro

ve, A

lign

, VS

L-3

(u

np

roven

effi

cacy in

IBS

).•

Pro

bio

tics

help

wit

h a

bd

om

inal p

ain

an

d d

iarr

ho

ea/c

on

stip

ati

on

• D

iffe

ren

t ty

pes

of p

rob

ioti

cs

have d

iffe

ren

t b

en

efi

ts a

nd

need

to

be t

ailo

red

to

sym

pto

ms

Psy

chia

tric

an

xie

ty/s

tre

ss –

red

ucti

on

, lifest

yle

man

ag

em

en

t b

y C

BT

• R

eco

mm

en

ded

(N

HS

) n

um

ber

of C

BT

sess

ion

s is

10

, alt

ho

ug

h m

ost

IBS

pati

en

ts w

ith

mo

dera

tely

severe

an

xie

ty w

ill

ach

ieve m

axim

um

ben

efi

t fr

om

20

-40

sess

ion

sC

om

mo

n s

en

se –

eat

reg

ula

rly,

eat

slo

wly

, take

exe

rcis

e, m

ain

tain

hig

h fl

uid

inta

ke, c

ut

do

wn

on

alc

oh

ol,

co

ffee a

nd

tea.

Fo

llo

w u

p•

Revie

w y

earl

y t

o a

ssess

:•

Lif

est

yle

issu

es

– st

ress

, an

xie

ty, e

tc.

• E

nco

ura

ge m

od

era

tio

n o

f caff

ein

e a

nd

alc

oh

ol i

nta

ke, s

mo

kin

g, e

tc.

• C

on

sid

er

rep

eati

ng

calp

rote

cti

n t

est

fo

r re

ass

ura

nce in

th

e v

ery

an

xio

us

pati

en

ts c

on

cern

ed

ab

ou

t n

ew

sym

pto

ms

– d

o n

ot

get

overe

xcit

ed

ab

ou

t m

ildly

ele

vate

d le

vels

of 5

0-2

00

mcg

/g

• S

up

ple

men

tary

tre

atm

en

t fo

r extr

a-i

nte

stin

al c

om

pla

ints

• D

irect

pati

en

ts t

o IB

S s

up

po

rt g

rou

ps

that

are

access

ible

via

th

e in

tern

et

Pro

fess

or In

gvar

Bja

rnas

on is

a c

onsu

ltan

t gas

troe

nte

rolo

gist

at K

ing’

s C

olle

ge H

ospi

tal

Tre

atm

en

t •

A h

olis

tic a

pp

roach

is im

po

rtan

t•

Th

e v

ari

ou

s fo

rms

of IB

S –

co

nven

tio

nal I

BS

, po

st-i

nfe

cti

ve IB

S, I

BS

ass

ocia

ted

w

ith

hyp

erm

ob

ility

syn

dro

mes

– are

all

treate

d in

th

e s

am

e w

ay

• A

realis

tic e

xp

ecta

tio

n is

to

an

ticip

ate

a 7

0%

imp

rovem

en

t in

70

% o

f p

ati

en

ts.

Th

ere

is a

bso

lute

ly n

o c

ure

.

• Ta

ilor

the t

reatm

en

t to

th

e s

ym

pto

ms

• P

ati

en

ts w

ith

IBS

an

d m

ult

iple

un

exp

lain

ed

sym

pto

ms

freq

uen

tly t

hin

k t

hat

they h

ave t

he ‘l

eaky g

ut’

syn

dro

me, w

here

by in

cre

ase

d in

test

inal p

erm

eab

ility

is

po

stu

late

d t

o a

llow

ab

sorp

tio

n o

f b

acte

rial t

oxin

s. T

his

is a

myth

an

d in

test

inal

perm

eab

ility

test

ing

can

co

nfi

rm t

his

Sept 2017 IBS pull-out flowchart_v3Y.indd 5 23/08/2017 19:51