You are here

Article Text

Article menu
Guidelines
British Society of Gastroenterology guidelines on the management of irritable bowel syndrome
  1. Dipesh H Vasant1,2,
  2. Peter A Paine2,3,
  3. Christopher J Black4,5,
  4. Lesley A Houghton5,6,
  5. Hazel A Everitt7,
  6. Maura Corsetti8,
  7. Anurag Agrawal9,
  8. Imran Aziz10,11,
  9. Adam D Farmer12,13,
  10. Maria P Eugenicos14,
  11. Rona Moss-Morris15,
  12. Yan Yiannakou16,
  13. Alexander C Ford4,5
  1. 1 Neurogastroenterology Unit, Gastroenterology, Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK
  2. 2 Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Gastroenterology, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
  3. 3 Gastroenterology, Salford Royal Foundation Trust, Salford, UK
  4. 4 Leeds Gastroenterology Institute, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, UK
  5. 5 Leeds Institute of Medical Research at St James’s, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
  6. 6 Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
  7. 7 Primary Care and Population Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
  8. 8 Nottingham Digestive Diseases Biomedical Research Unit, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
  9. 9 Gastroenterology, Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Trust, Armthorpe Road, Doncaster, UK
  10. 10 Academic Unit of Gastroenterology, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, UK
  11. 11 Department of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
  12. 12 Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, Stoke-on-Trent, UK
  13. 13 School of Medicine, Keele University, Keele, UK
  14. 14 Department of Gastroenterology, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, UK
  15. 15 Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
  16. 16 Department of Gastroenterology, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, Durham, UK
  1. Correspondence to Professor Alexander C Ford, Leeds Gastroenterology Institute, St James's University Hospital, Leeds, UK; alexf12399{at}yahoo.com

Abstract

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) remains one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders seen by clinicians in both primary and secondary care. Since publication of the last British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) guideline in 2007, substantial advances have been made in understanding its complex pathophysiology, resulting in its re-classification as a disorder of gut-brain interaction, rather than a functional gastrointestinal disorder. Moreover, there has been a considerable amount of new evidence published concerning the diagnosis, investigation and management of IBS. The primary aim of this guideline, commissioned by the BSG, is to review and summarise the current evidence to inform and guide clinical practice, by providing a practical framework for evidence-based management of patients. One of the strengths of this guideline is that the recommendations for treatment are based on evidence derived from a comprehensive search of the medical literature, which was used to inform an update of a series of trial-based and network meta-analyses assessing the efficacy of dietary, pharmacological and psychological therapies in treating IBS. Specific recommendations have been made according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system, summarising both the strength of the recommendations and the overall quality of evidence. Finally, this guideline identifies novel treatments that are in development, as well as highlighting areas of unmet need for future research.

  • irritable bowel syndrome

https://doi.org/10.1136/gutjnl-2021-324598

Statistics from Altmetric.com

    Request Permissions

    If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

    View Full Text

    Supplementary materials

    • Supplementary Data

      This web only file has been produced by the BMJ Publishing Group from an electronic file supplied by the author(s) and has not been edited for content.

    • Supplementary Data

      This web only file has been produced by the BMJ Publishing Group from an electronic file supplied by the author(s) and has not been edited for content.

    • Supplementary Data

      This web only file has been produced by the BMJ Publishing Group from an electronic file supplied by the author(s) and has not been edited for content.

    Footnotes

    • DHV and PAP are joint first authors.

    • Twitter @DipeshVasant:, @DrCJBlack, @alex_ford12399

    • Correction notice This article has been corrected since it published Online First. The author affiliations have been updated.

    • Contributors DHV, PAP, CJB, LAH, HE, MC, AA, IA, ADF, MPE, RM-M, YY and ACF conceived and drafted the study. All authors drafted the manuscript. ACF, DHV and PAP edited the manuscript. All authors commented on drafts of the manuscript. All authors have approved the final draft of the manuscript.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests Please see the attached supplement of declarations of conflicts of interest for all authors.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.