Post-infectious Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Curr Gastroenterol Rep. 2006 Jul;8(4):327-32.

Post-infectious Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Rhodes DY, Wallace M.

Naval Medical Center 34800 Bob Wilson Drive,San Diego CA 92134, USA. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects 8% to 22% of the general population. Although patients describe an insidious onset of symptoms, including abdominal pain relieved with bowel movements, excessive intestinal gas, variable bowel habits, and abdominal bloating, a subgroup of individuals describe the onset of IBS symptoms following an episode of acute gastroenteritis, known as post-infectious IBS (PI-IBS). Several studies have demonstrated the development of IBS following infection. Risk factors for the development of PI-IBS are female sex and longer duration of initial illness. Although the underlying mechanism of PI-IBS is unclear, ongoing inflammation is clearly a factor in the pathogenesis. The underlying inflammatory process results in increased enterochromaffin cells, T-lymphocytes, intestinal permeability, colonic transit time, and a variety of immunologic abnormalities. PI-IBS patients tend to have a better prognosis than do those with idiopathic IBS, with resolution of symptoms within 5 to 6 years. Treatment is similar to that of idiopathic IBS.

PMID: 16836945 [PubMed - in process]

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