Testing for Celiac Disease in Patients With Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Weekitt Kittisupamongkol, MD weekitti@gmail.comHua Chiew HospitalBangkok, Thailand
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
To the Editor: In their Rational Clinical Examination article, Dr Ford and colleagues1 considered history and physical examination in establishing irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) as a cause of a patient's lower gastrointestinal symptoms. In their discussion, they stated that current guidelines for the management of IBS do not recommend routine screening for celiac disease.
I disagree with this approach. Tests for celiac disease should be made in any patients who fulfill Rome criteria with diarrhea-predominant IBS.2 Such a syndrome is associated with poorly responsive celiac disease and one of the indications for serological screening of celiac disease.3 Even in a population with low prevalence of celiac disease, it can be cost-effective to screen for this disorder in patients with suspected IBS.4
Financial Disclosures: None reported.
Letters Section Editor: Robert M. Golub, MD, Senior Editor.
