Small Bowel

Almost All Irritable Bowel Syndromes Are Post-Infectious and Respond to Probiotics: Controversial Issues
Giovanni Barbara, Vincenzo Stanghellini, Cesare Cremon, Roberto De Giorgio, Roberto Corinaldesi

Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

Address of Corresponding Author

Dig Dis 2007;25:245-248 (DOI: 10.1159/000103894)

  Key Words

• Acute infectious gastroenteritis
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome
• Intestinal microflora, role
• Irritable bowel syndrome, clinical management

  Abstract

Acute infectious gastroenteritis is the strongest known risk factor for the development of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), one of the most common functional gastrointestinal disorders. However, knowledge about the incidence and prevalence of post-infectious IBS (PI-IBS) in the general population is still limited. Some of the published epidemiological studies on PI-IBS lack an appropriate control population, and were limited by a short follow-up symptom assessment post-infection. A number of risk factors have been associated with the development of PI-IBS, including the virulence of the pathogen, younger age, female sex, the long duration of the initial illness and the presence of psychological disturbances. However, much work has to be done to establish whether multifactorial mechanisms actually concur to the pathophysiology of PI-IBS. The discovery that an infective episode may trigger the development of IBS has not substantially changed the clinical management of this subset of patients compared to the classical (non-infective) form of IBS. Probiotics have been claimed to be of some benefit in IBS, but the majority of studies have been performed in non-specific IBS rather than in PI-IBS and a number of issues still remain to be elucidated.

Copyright © 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Giovanni Barbara, MD
Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology
St. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Building No. 5
Via Massarenti, 9, IT-40138 Bologna (Italy)
Tel. +39 051 636 4103, Fax +39 051 345 864, E-Mail giovanni.barbara@unibo.it

  Article Information

Number of Print Pages : 4
Number of Figures : 0, Number of Tables : 0, Number of References : 20