Irritable Bowel Syndrome Flashcards
What is IBS?
A spectrum of disorders
Diarrhoea or constipation or both (mixed)
Diagnosed by first ruling out other conditions
Describe how IBS feels?
Recurrent abdominal pain / discomfort
Sensation of incomplete evacuation
Passage of mucus
Bloating and flatulence
What are the non GI symptoms of IBS?
Fatigue
Fibromyalgia
Anxiety
Depression
Possibly headaches
What is the characterisation of IBS?
Ill defined pattern of dysmotility and altered secretion and sensation through the gut
15% of the western population
Lifelong condition
(often first diagnosed in 20-30 year olds)
Female predominance
Absence of structural or biochemical abnormalities
What are the sub classifications of IBS?
IBS-diarrhoea (IBS-D)
IBS-constipation (IBS-C)
IBS-mixed (IBS-M)
IBS-unclassified (IBS-U)
Describe IBS-D
> 25% loose or watery stools
<25% hard or lumpy stools
Morning frequency (often with urgency)
Usually accompanied by pain that is often relieved by defecating
Describe IBS-C
> 25% hard or lumpy stools
<25% loose or watery stools
Sensation of incomplete evacuation
Associated with passage of mucus
Describe IBS-M
> 25% hard or lumpy stools
25% loose or watery stools
Symptoms alternate between constipation and diarrhoea
Hard stools in the morning
Progressively watery stools throughout the day
Describe IBS-U
<25% hard or lumpy stools
<25% loose or watery stools
Insufficient abnormality of stool consistency to meet criteria for the other types of
What are some of the causes of IBS?
Thought to be multi factorial
IBS symptoms will usually follow an infection
There could be chronic low grade inflammation which activates the immune response
(This is significant enough to trigger symptoms but not major structural changes to the gut)
What are some of the proposed theories of causes for IBS?
Altered microbiota
Altered serotonin levels
(Raised in IBS-D but reduced in IBS-C)
Abnormalities in the brain gut axis
Neuroimmune dysregulation
What sort of dietary changes should IBS patients make?
Eat regularly and don’t skip meals
(5/6 smaller meals rather than 1/2 larger ones)
Limit certain foods
Increase soluble fibre
Increase fluid intake
What foods should be restricted in IBS?
Fresh fruit
Carrots and beans
Honey
Fermentable sugars
Caffeine
Alcohol
Fizzy drinks
What are some treatment methods for IBS?
Treatments tend to be very tailored to each individual
Anti diarrhoeals / laxatives
Anti spasmodics for pain relief
Paracetamol for pain relief
Treatment of associated depression and anxiety may help
Why should paracetamol be used to help with pain rather that NSAIDs?
NSAIDs inhibit the cyclooxygenase enzyme that produces prostaglandins in the gut
Prostaglandins are important in the regulation of intestinal activity
Therefore blocking this would exacerbate the IBS symptoms not alleviate them
Paracetamol blocks prostaglandin synthesis in the brain and directly blocks the pain pathway
Is IBS psychological or physiological?
While treating psychological symptoms is seen to help IBS it has also been seen that 40% of people will actually improve under a placebo treatment calling into question how psychological the disease is
What is tachyphylaxis?
The appearance of desensitisation after prolonged use
How useful are anti spasmodics?
They do relieve pain and reduce spasms however there can be a great variability in the responses seen from individual patients
Some react better than others
What are the antispasmodic agents available?
Muscarinic antagonists
Calcium channel blockers
Otilonium bromide
Mebeverine, alverine and peppermint oil
Name some of the muscarinic antagonists that can be used as anti spasmodics
Dicycloverine
Hyoscine
Atropine
How do muscarinic antagonists work?
They block the action of ACh at the ACh receptors
Name an example of a calcium channel modulator and explain how it works
Nifedipine
They are inhibitory modulators of voltage gated L type calcium channels
Reduces the influx of calcium
Reduces the calcium available for muscle contraction
Relives muscle spasms
Describe otilonium bromide
Relatively new but quite successful
Has the advantage of poor systemic absorption
(Minimises systemic side effects)
Acts via the luminal side of the intestine
Mixed pharmacological profile
(Blocks both muscarinic and voltage gated channels to reduce contraction)