title: Postinfectious irritable bowel syndrome may occur after non-gastrointestinal and intestinal infection.
abstract: Postinfectious functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) may not be specific to gastroenteritis. This pilot study aimed to ascertain the 3- and 6-month incidence of functional gut disorders in people with non-gastrointestinal (GI) infection, gastroenteritis and healthy controls. This was a prospective study of three cohorts recruited from hospital (non-GI infections) and the community (others). FGIDs were diagnosed using self-completed Rome II modular questionnaires administered at baseline, 3 and 6 months. Thirty-six subjects with non-GI infection, 219 healthy subjects and 108 with bacterial gastroenteritis participated. No difference in incidence of FGID was detected between the GI and non-GI infection cohorts. Any FGID was more frequent in people who had a non-GI infection than in controls at both 3 [odds ratio: 4.34 (95% CI: 3.60-16.45)] and 6 months [4.76 (4.42-27.92)]. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) alone was more frequent in people with non-GI infections than in controls at 3 months (6.12 [1.30-29.12]) but did not quite reach statistical significance at 6 months (4.58 [0.79-26.46]). Our findings were unexpected. Postinfectious FGIDs may be related to non-GI and GI infection, although not all potential biases were controlled in study design. Further studies need to explore these preliminary findings and, if confirmed, the underlying mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Northumbria Division, University of Newcastle Faculty of Medicine, North Tyneside Hospital, Rake Lane, North Shields, UK.
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: McKeown
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Parry
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stansfield
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Barton
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Welfare
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies