What is irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea is the prominent feature

The most prominent feature of patients with irritable bowel syndrome is diarrhea. The stool is mostly loose and mushy, but can also be formed soft stool or watery. It usually occurs about 3-5 times a day, and in a few severe attacks it can occur more than ten times a day. In addition, there are also adverse reactions such as insomnia and anxiety.

1. Overview

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) refers to a group of clinical syndromes including abdominal pain, bloating, changes in bowel habits, abnormal stool characteristics, mucus in stool, etc., which persist or recur, and organic diseases that can cause these symptoms have been excluded through examination. This disease is the most common functional intestinal disease. According to a questionnaire survey among the general population, the rate of people with IBS symptoms was reported to be 10%-20% in Europe and the United States, and 8.7% in a group in Beijing, China. Most of the patients are young and middle-aged, and the first onset after the age of 50 is rare. The male to female ratio is approximately 1:2.

2. Clinical Concepts

Irritable bowel syndrome lacks recognized morphological, biochemical indices or genetic abnormalities, and its diagnosis can only be based on symptomology. Irritable bowel syndrome is defined as a disease state consisting of a group of functional intestinal disorders, with symptoms mainly including abdominal discomfort and defecation dysfunction. According to the Rome II consensus report, functional bowel disorders in the absence of abdominal pain/discomfort (such as functional diarrhea, functional constipation, unspecified functional bowel disorder, and pelvic floor dysregulation) and abdominal pain/discomfort in the absence of functional bowel disorders (such as functional abdominal pain and bloating) should be diagnosed as different diseases.

According to clinical manifestations

IBS is divided into three subtypes: diarrhea-predominant IBS (D-IBS), constipation-predominant IBS (C-IBS), and alternating constipation and diarrhea-predominant IBS. The division of different subtypes in the Rome II diagnostic criteria makes clinical research and clinical efficacy evaluation more operational.