Drug treatment of the irritable bowel syndrome.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is defined as a functional bowel disorder in which abdominal pain is associated with defecation or a change in bowel habit, and with features of disordered defecation and distension. The irritable bowel syndrome occurs in 10 to 20% of people worldwide and is very commonly encountered in clinical practice. This has encouraged the pharmaceutical industry to search for effective drug therapy. So far, a universally effective agent has not been found, and since this is a chronic, benign disorder, beginning in youth, long term drug use should be avoided. Nevertheless, if a specific IBS symptom, such as constipation or abdominal pain dominates, a specific drug may be helpful. However, tests and treatment should be minimised or even avoided in order to do no harm. A largely nonpharmaceutical approach to IBS should be taken. This approach employs drugs sparingly and then only targeted at specific and resistant symptoms.