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Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Abstract:

The functional gastrointestinal disorders may be defined as a variable combination of chronic or recurrent gastrointestinal symptoms not explained by structural or biochemical abnormalities. The frequency and chronicity of these disorders, and the associated health care burden, attest to the need to develop reliable methods of diagnosis in order to provide cost-effective treatment. Based on existing epidemiological and clinical data, our multinational committee of clinician-investigators has set out consensus guidelines for the diagnosis of 21 functional gastrointestinal disorders attributed to the oesophagus, gastroduodenum, intestines, biliary tree and anorectum. We emphasise the importance of using symptom-based criteria with a minimum of diagnostic studies. The proposed criteria provide the basis for selecting patients for future epidemiological and clinical investigation. Future studies using these criteria will lead to their validation and/or modification.