Medically Reviewed by: Nicole Anne Vergara, RD
Colonoscopy cannot identify Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), but if your doctor feels you have it, he will perform one to rule out any other underlying conditions. IBS sufferers seem to have delicate bowels that are easily “upset.”
IBS’s key signs and symptoms are:
- stomach discomfort or soreness that is frequently eased by feces or wind passage
- bloating
- Constipation or persistent diarrhea, or a combination of the two
Other signs include:
- white mucus in the stool
- the impression that your bowel movement is not yet complete
- IBS can cause pain and nausea, but it doesn’t harm the colon or other components of the digestive system. IBS does not cause other medical issues.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients frequently undergo colonoscopy to rule out any underlying organic diseases. To evaluate the prevalence of organic diseases like colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, and microscopic colitis discovered at colonoscopy in IBS and its associated risk factors, a meta-analysis is conducted to help patients with IBS and physicians treat these organic diseases.
Methods Used:
Through January 2022, Medline, Embase, and Web of Science were searched. Studies reporting the diagnostic success of colonoscopy in adults with IBS who had microscopic colitis (MC), inflammatory bowel disease, or colorectal cancer were considered eligible observational studies. There were estimated pooled prevalence and risk difference (RD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
Results:
12 studies with 28,630 IBS patients undergoing colonoscopies were eligible among the 2490 citations that were found. After all the procedures done, it was concluded that Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) patients that are older in age are more prone to having Colorectal Cancer (CRC) and Microscopic Colitis (MC).
The results of the pooled prevalence of Colorectal Cancer, Irritable Bowel Diseases, Microscopic Colitis inIrritable Bowel Syndrome:
- Colorectal Cancer: 0.78%
- Irritable Bowel Diseases: 4.48%
- Microscopic Colitis: 2.35%
The study also showed that the prevalence of colorectal cancer for IBS patients are relatively rare when they are younger than 40 years old. It was also shown that the pooled prevalence of colorectal cancer and irritable bowel disease are relatively higher in IBS patients when they have alarm symptoms.
Alarm symptoms are symptoms that may dictate that a person has a severe illness. For digestive illnesses, alarm symptoms may include anemia, fever, weight loss, gastrointestinal bleeding, and frequent nocturnal symptoms.
Lastly, When compared to Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Constipation (IBS-C), Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Diarrhea (IBS-D) had a higher colonoscopy detection rate for BD and MC.
