Tests & Diagnosis Methods for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Conditions & Diseases: Digestive System

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Medical Tests & Diagnosis Methods/Tools

Some of the diagnostic methods and tools are as follows:

Medical History:
A physician takes note of the bowel function pattern, nature and onset of symptoms, past medical history and presence or absence of other symptoms.

Physical Examination:
On physical examination, the abdomen appears to be tender and the bowel seems to be spastic.

Investigative Tests:
The intestinal tract is viewed with the help of colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy or endoscopy and routine blood tests are usually performed to rule out the possibility of other diseases (2).

Rome II Criteria:
In order to diagnose and confirm IBS, the Rome II criteria must be fulfilled. Rome II criteria states that a patient should have suffered from abdominal pain or discomfort for 12 weeks or more (may or may not be consecutive) in the past one year with two out of the three following features:

Relief with defecation
Onset associated with a change in the frequency of stool
Onset associated with a change in the form of stool

Other symptoms that are not primary but support a diagnosis of IBS, are as follows:

Abnormal frequency of stools (more than 3/day or less than 3/week)
Abnormal stool form (lumpy and hard, or loose and watery)
Abnormal stool passage (straining, urgency, or feeling of incomplete evacuation)
Passage of mucus
Bloating (feeling of abdominal distention, or enlargement) (11).

Article by Kona Vishnu, MS
Medical Writer,
OmniMedicalSearch.com

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Page Last Modified:
09/10/2010