title: Irritable bowel syndrome: current approach to symptoms, evaluation, and treatment.
abstract: There are frequent advances in knowledge about the clinical presentation, pathophysiology, and treatment of irritable bowel syndrome. It is important for clinicians to be aware of available therapies and the supporting evidence for those therapies to increase patient satisfaction. This is best achieved with a collaborative and long-term clinician-patient relationship and mutual commitment to modify therapy and try new modalities until the greatest relief of symptoms and improvement in health-related quality of life is achieved. This article reviews symptoms, comorbidities, gender differences, and measure of severity in irritable bowel syndrome and current and evidence-based approaches to evaluation and treatment, and the new symptom-based Rome III diagnostic criteria are reviewed and explained.
authors.affiliation: Center for Neurovisceral Sciences and Women's Health, Division of Digestive Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, CURE Building 115, Room 223, 11301 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90073, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Videlock
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000930:Antidiarrheals / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D003113:Colonoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D054368:Laxatives / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D000930:Antidiarrheals; D015415:Biomarkers; D054368:Laxatives