Clinical characteristics of irritable bowel syndrome and its subtypes diagnosed by Roma III criteria

Objective To Analyze the clinical characteristics of IBS and its four subtypes.Methods Consecutively investigated the patients received the electronic colonoscopy in Wuhan Union hospital endoscope center during the period from May 2007 to October 2007.IBS and its four subtypes were diagnosed according to the Rome Ⅲ criteria and Bristol stool form scale based on the endoscope results,and the clinical characters were analyzed.Results 207 patients were diagnosed as IBS,100(48.31%) patients were male,107(51.69%) patients were female;48 cases were IBS-C subtypes(23.19%),130 cases were IBS-D subtypes(62.80%),20 cases were IBS-M subtypes(9.66%)and 9 cases were IBS-U subtypes(4.35%);In the patients above 45 years old,the number of IBS patients was negatively related to the age,however,the number of IBS was positively related to the age.The peak age of the onset of IBS was 35 to 45 years old.Compared with IBS-D,IBS-C and IBS-M were predominant in female patients,IBS-C and IBS-U had a longer average course than that of IBS-M.The incidence rates of abdominal discomfort relieved after defecation had no differences among the four subtypes(P0.05),but the incidence rates of abdominal pain,abdominal bloating,abdominal discomfort,difficult defecation,incomplete evacuation and defecation urgency were different in the four subtypes0(P0.05),Lower abdominal pain was the most common occurrence location of the abdominal symptom.Conclusions Each of the four subtypes of IBS has its distinctive clinical symptoms.These symptom differences are very helpful for diagnosis and classification of IBS,and are also benefit for a doctor to choose an effective treatment.