Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders encountered by physicians in primary and secondary care. Patients with IBS commonly present with various extraintestinal complaints, which account for a substantial clinical and economic burden. The common extraintestinal comorbidities associated with IBS include anxiety, depression, somatisation, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic pelvic pain, interstitial cystitis, sexual dysfunction and sleep disturbance. The presence of comorbidity in IBS poses a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge with patients frequently undergoing unnecessary investigations and interventions, including surgery. This review discusses the different physical and psychological comorbidities associated with IBS, the shared pathophysiological mechanisms and potential management strategies.

Background The Rome IV criteria for disorders of gut‐brain interaction define irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) as a functional bowel disorder associated with frequent abdominal pain of at least 1 day per week. In contrast, functional diarrhea (FD) and functional constipation (FC) are relatively painless. We compared differences in mood and somatization between Rome IV IBS and FC/FD. Methods A total of 567 patients with Rome IV defined IBS or FD/FC completed a baseline questionnaire on demographics, abdominal pain frequency, mood (hospital anxiety and depression scale, HADS), and somatization (patient health questionnaire, PHQ‐12). The primary analysis compared differences in mood and somatization between IBS and FC/FD, and the relative influence of abdominal pain frequency on these extra‐intestinal symptoms. The secondary analysis evaluated differences across individual IBS subtypes, and also between FC and FD. Key Results Patients with IBS—in comparison to those with FC/FD—had significantly higher mean PHQ‐12 somatization scores (9.1 vs. 5.4), more somatic symptoms (6.0 vs. 4.3), abnormally high somatization levels (16% vs. 3%), higher HADS score (15.0 vs. 11.7), and clinically abnormal levels of anxiety (38% vs. 20%) and depression (17% vs. 10%). Increasing abdominal pain frequency correlated positively with PHQ‐12, number of somatic symptoms, and HADS; p < 0.001. No differences in mood and somatization scores were seen between individual IBS subtypes, and nor between FC and FD. Conclusion & Inferences Based on the Rome IV criteria, IBS is associated with increased levels of psychological distress and somatization compared with FD or FC. Patients reporting frequent abdominal pain should be comprehensively screened for psychosomatic disorders, with psychological therapies considered early in the disease course.

Background A high prevalence of primary bile acid diarrhoea (BAD) has been reported for Rome III defined irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)-diarrhoea and functional diarrhoea. We determined whether this still applies under the contemporaneous Rome IV criteria, given that the latter characterises IBS-diarrhoea as having more frequent abdominal pain compared with previous iterations, whilst no longer recognising abdominal discomfort. Methods Patients referred for a 75 SeHCAT test completed a baseline questionnaire comprising, i) demographic data, ii) risk factors for BAD (inflammatory bowel disease, bowel resection, cholecystectomy, microscopic colitis, celiac disease, abdominal-pelvic radiotherapy), iii) the Rome III and IV bowel disorder questionnaire, and iv) mood and somatisation scores. A diagnosis of BAD constituted a 75 SeHCAT of ≤15%, with moderate to severe disease being defined as ≤10% and ≤5%, respectively. Findings Of 300 patients with complete dataset, 184 had no risk factors for BAD and fulfilled criteria for either IBS-diarrhoea or functional diarrhoea. The prevalence of primary BAD was 38% ( n = 70/184), with almost half having moderate ( n = 16) to severe ( n = 17) disease. Using the Rome III criteria, the prevalence of primary BAD was 36% in IBS-diarrhoea ( n = 63/173) and 64% ( n = 7/11) in functional diarrhoea; p = 0.11. Using the Rome IV criteria, the prevalence of primary BAD was 38% ( n = 53/139) in IBS-diarrhoea and 38% ( n = 17/45) in functional diarrhoea; p = 0.97. Patients with primary BAD experienced more frequent loose stools ( p = 0.01) and had a higher body mass index ( p <0.0001) compared to those without BAD, but otherwise no significant differences were seen in age, gender, mood, somatisation, or abdominal pain. The presence of primary BAD in patients classified as overweight or obese was approximately 40% and 60%, respectively. Interpretation Over a third of patients with Rome IV IBS-diarrhoea or functional diarrhoea have primary BAD, similar to Rome III. We therefore recommend that, in secondary care settings, generic testing for primary BAD should be considered in patients presenting with chronic diarrhoea of presumed functional origin regardless of concomitant abdominal pain. Centres that lack tests for primary BAD, and who empirically treat instead, may consider targeting patients who are overweight or obese.

Echocardiography is the first-line imaging modality for assessing cardiac function and morphology. The miniaturisation of ultrasound technology has led to the development of hand-held cardiac ultrasound (HCU) devices. The increasing sophistication of available HCU devices enables clinicians to more comprehensively examine patients at the bedside. HCU can augment clinical exam findings by offering a rapid screening assessment of cardiac dysfunction in both the Emergency Department and in cardiology clinics. Possible implications of implementing HCU into clinical practice are discussed in this review paper.

Celiac disease is a common autoimmune condition characterized by small intestinal inflammation and mucosal damage triggered by an inappropriate immune response to ingested gluten. Gastroscopy and duodenal biopsy are currently the gold standard approach to diagnosing celiac disease in adults. However, the emergence of highly accurate serological tests for celiac disease in the last 2 decades led to a change in the pediatric guidelines to diagnose celiac disease without biopsy in selected patients. Adopting this no-biopsy approach to diagnose celiac disease in adults remains controversial, but the evidence supporting it is growing.