University of Michigan physician says unless other warning signs are present, colonoscopies aren't necessary for IBS patients
Patients with irritable bowel syndrome are at no greater risk of having polyps, colon cancer or inflammatory bowel diseases than healthy people undergoing colonoscopies, according to new research published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.
"Patients and doctors get nervous about the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)," says William D. Chey, M.D., professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School. "They think the symptoms represent something more sinister."
"This study should reassure doctors and patients that typical IBS symptoms are not indicators of a more serious disease," he adds.
Chey was the lead author on the study, the largest prospective evaluation of the results of colonoscopies in patients with irritable bowel syndrome.
IBS symptoms include recurrent episodes of abdominal pain or cramping in connection with altered bowel habits. The condition affects 10 to 20 percent of the U.S. population and is more common among women than men. Many of those afflicted never seek treatment.
IBS patients often undergo colonoscopies because physicians are particularly concerned about missing colorectal cancer or inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease, Chey says. Roughly a quarter of all colonoscopies performed in the U.S. are for IBS-related symptoms.