Managing pain in irritable bowel syndrome: current perspectives and best practice

• IntroductionIrritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is characterized by chronic symptoms (>6 months) of abdominal pain in combination with a disturbed bowel habit. There is an association between the intensity of abdominal pain and the need for health care utilization. A bidirectionally disordered gut-brain interaction is central in the pathophysiology of IBS where a number of factors, gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal, can contribute to the illness experience. In order to treat abdominal pain in IBS, mapping these factors in a multidimensional clinical profile is helpful.Areas coveredThis review covers basic epidemiology and pathophysiology of abdominal pain in IBS, the diagnostic approach, and a multidimensional treatment model where the management of abdominal pain is in focus.Expert opinionA personalized treatment of abdominal pain in IBS is possible in patients who understand the diagnosis, the potential of therapies used, and where a good continuity in the patient-doctor relationship is established.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Gastroenterologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Gastroenterology and Hepatology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Irritable bowel syndrome

disorders of gut-brain interaction

abdominal

pain

epidemiology

diagnosis

pathophysiology

treatment

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