Tag Archives: functional diarrhea

AGA Guidelines for Evaluation of Functional Diarrhea and IBS-D

Posted on by

W Smalley et al. Gastroenterol 2019; 157: 851-54. Full Text Link: AGA Clinical Practice Guidelines on the Laboratory Evaluation of Functional Diarrhea and Diarrhea-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Adults (IBS-D)

Clinical support tool on pg 855, Patient Summary 856-57, and Technical Review 859-80.

These guidelines/recommendations (listed below) do NOT apply to patients with any of the following:

  • Alarm features such as gross blood, weight loss, anemia, and hypoalbuminemia
  • Family history of of IBD, colon cancer, or celiac disease
  • Travel to areas with high prevalence of infectious diarrhea
  • Immune suppression
  • Ingestion of medications or substances known to cause diarrhea

 

Table 3  Summary of Recommendations of the American Gastroenterological Association on the Laboratory Evaluation of Functional Diarrhea and Diarrhea-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Adults
Statement Strength of recommendation Quality of evidence
Recommendation 1: In patients presenting with chronic diarrhea, the AGA suggests the use of either fecal calprotectin or fecal lactoferrin to screen for IBD. Conditional Low
Recommendation 2: In patients presenting with chronic diarrhea, the AGA suggests against the use of ESR or CRP to screen for IBD. Conditional Low
Recommendation 3: In patients presenting with chronic diarrhea, the AGA recommends testing for Giardia. Strong High
Recommendation 4: In patients presenting with chronic diarrhea with no travel history to or recent immigration from high-risk areas, the AGA suggests against testing stools for ova and parasites (other than Giardia). Conditional Low
Recommendation 5: In patients presenting with chronic diarrhea, the AGA recommends testing for celiac disease with IgA-tTG and a second test to detect celiac disease in the setting of IgA deficiency Strong Moderate
Recommendation 6: In patients presenting with chronic diarrhea, the AGA suggests testing for bile acid diarrhea. Conditional Low
Recommendation 7. In patients presenting with chronic diarrhea, the AGA makes no recommendation for the use of currently available serologic tests for diagnosis of IBS None Knowledge gap

For recommendation #6, the authors note that tests for bile acid mediated diarrhea in the U.S. include total bile acid in a 48-hour stool collection and serum fibroblalt growth factor 19.

Image available online: