long-term profile of patients with irritable bowel syndrome

To evaluate the symptom profile, course and prognosis of patients with irritable bowel syndrome [IBS] over a 15 years period. An observational study. Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan, from 1996 to 2011. Patients diagnosed with IBS at the study centre were followed for their clinical features, course over the period of time, management and its results. Only those patients were included in the study who completed the follow-up period. A total of 292 patients with mean age of 40.44 +/- 13.69 years were inducted. There were 156 [53.4%] males and 136 [46.6%] females. Nearly all male and female patients had abdominal pain and bloating. However, constipation was seen in 79.4% females and 71.6 males. Diarrhea was seen in 46.5% females and 42.7% males. Both constipation and diarrhea were seen in 27.3% female and 15.6% males. A high number of patients had concomitant illnesses and a large proportion of them had sleep disturbances, exacerbations with stress and had food sensitivities. This longitudinal follow-up study showed that, in our setting, there were more males suffering from this illness; females had more constipation-dominant features. Prognosis over the course of illness was excellent in all patients