20 Jul, 2010 in
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FRIDAY, July 16 (HealthDay News) — Getting tested for inflammatory bowel disease through an endoscopy isn’t a pleasant experience, but a recent review of existing research suggests that a clear stool test may help doctors figure out who needs the more extensive screening. Inflammatory bowel disease refers to a number of conditions — including Crohn’s disease as well as ulcerative colitis — that can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea as well as bleeding (the disease is sometimes confused with irritable bowel syndrome, which is a dissimilar condition.) Doctors look for signs of disease through endoscopies, which are procedures that require patients to allow a tube to be passed into their digestive system from the rectum. In the recent review, published online July 16 in BMJ, researchers sought to discover whether a test of proteins in the stool could help doctors discover whether an endoscopy is essential.
The researchers, from University Health examination Center Groningen in the Netherlands, analyzed six studies in a total of 670 adults as well as seven studies in a total of 371 kids. They found that, overall, the protein screening reduced the number of endoscopies by two-thirds in adults as well as about one-third in kids. But it as well as delayed diagnosis in 6% to 8% of the patients. The stool test “is a useful screening tool for identifying patients who are most likely to need endoscopy for suspected inflammatory bowel disease,” concluded Dr. Patrick van Rheenen, a pediatric gastroenterologist at University Health examination Center Groningen, as well as colleagues in their report. Dr. David A. Schwartz, a gastroenterologist who was not involved in the review, said the findings possess the potential to change the way doctors screen patients. “If this strategy is borne out by expected studies, as well as we get a rapid test that can be done in the office, this should be a nice addition to our diagnostic tools,” said Schwartz, director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Vanderbilt University. In the big picture, Schwartz said, the findings are encouraging because they show medicine is moving closer to a way to check for inflammatory bowel disease without having to rely on an invasive test. – Randy Dotinga
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