Effective Management of the “Irritable Bowel Syndrome” Phenotype (“IBS”–Enteropathy) Depends Upon Accurate and Efficient Diagnosis

IBS is the most common DGBI (disorder of gut-brain interaction), with a worldwide prevalence of 10%. For those who consult with health care professionals, quality of life and ability to function are impaired, health care utilization is high, patient satisfaction with diagnosis and management is low, and direct and indirect health care costs amount to $30 billion.

IBS is phenotypically expressed as an enteropathy triad of symptoms, the most common collection of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms seen in clinical practice:

- Abdominal pain/discomfort
- Abdominal bloating/distention (not a component of ROME IV diagnostic criteria)
- Bowel dysfunction (constipation, diarrhea, or both)

"IBS”–Enteropathy originates from the gut (duodenum, small intestine, colon, and/or rectum). In the absence of alarm features (eg, blood in the stool), a diagnosis of IBS (the DGBI) is usually made, which is treatable. However, there are six other common disorders and diseases manifesting as “IBS”–Enteropathy, each of which is a therapeutic target.

Importantly, most patients with IBS have comorbidities, including:

- SPADE (sleep dysfunction, pain, anxiety, depression, and/or low energy/fatigue)
- COPC Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions (eg, fibromyalgia)

This research topic focuses on accurate, efficient, and timely diagnosis of “IBS”–Enteropathy to achieve effective and cost-effective management. Researchers, clinicians, and experts in the fields of gastrointestinal diseases and related disciplines are encouraged to submit original research articles, reviews, mini-reviews, systematic reviews, case reports, perspectives, short communications as well as theoretical papers, opinions, and methods relevant to this article collection.

We invite papers on the following topics relating to the ‘IBS’ differential diagnosis:

- Importance of Optimizing the Patient-Healthcare Professional Relationship
- Diagnostic Tools, Technology, and Apps
- “Red Flag” Concerning Features
- Differential Diagnosis: IBS—A Disorder of Gut-Brain Interaction (DGBI)
- Differential Diagnosis: Gut Microbiome Dysbiosis
- Differential Diagnosis: Food and Ingested Contents
- Differential Diagnosis: Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS)
- Differential Diagnosis: Stress/Emotional Distress and Disrupted Circadian Rhythms
- Differential Diagnosis: Bile Acid Malabsorption
- Differential Diagnosis: Constipation Disorders
- The Forgotten Organ—Small Intestinal Evaluation
- IBS and Comorbidities (SPADE and COPC): What Links Them?

Keywords: Abdominal distention, Bowel dysfunction, Chronic diarrhea, Chronic constipation, Economic burden, QoL

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.