Is Irritable Bowel Syndrome over Diagnosed in Duhok City Community-Iraq?

Abstract

Abstract:The symptoms of IBS are common in community, there are overwhelming numbers of Diagnosed cases of IBS in Duhok Governorate, and frequently many cases appears to have been misdiagnosed. This study is through light on the very update methods of diagnosing IBS, its pathophysiology with the most update treatment. All diagnosed cases of IBS for more than three months, both in azadi General Hospital Out Patient Department and Private clinics are re-evaluated for the possibility of misdiagnosis and all were fully investigated for all differential diagnosis and according to its clinical presentation by most recent methods available for each disease. The aim of this study is to: (1) Know the prevalence of IBS in Dohuk Governorate and to be compared with studies done in other localities in different countries. (2) Differentiate between patients who are really IBS from those due to other causes and wrongly diagnosed as IBS. (3) Stimulate other doctors to investigate all suspected cases and not to depend merely on clinical presentation. The results shows that most cases are diagnosed according to clinical presentation which is important but not enough at all and the diseases should be diagnosed after excluding all diseases with similar presentation and not to miss any treatable conditions. The total number of the IBS patients were 529 (76.01%), while the number of the patients that misdiagnosed as IBS were 167 (23.99%) due to other causes that needed investigations. The differences among IBS, sex, and other causes were significant at (p < 0.095). The percentage of cigarette smokers 52.9% was significantly associated with IBS The study shows high percentage of misdiagnosed treatable cases.