The diagnosis and management of IBS varies greatly within primary care, reflecting the large variation in how IBS is perceived. The awareness and use of diagnostic criteria is low based on current literature, and PCP diagnosis appears to be based mainly on exclusion, even if an early tentative diagnosis is often established. However, recent trends in diagnostic strategies may not yet be fully captured in the published literature. A positive clinical diagnosis can be strongly encouraged since recent evidence suggests it is less costly and non-inferior to in terms of patient outcomes and excluding organic disease. The specific goal of the working team was to provide a comprehensive overview of functional GI disease in primary care, with clear recommendations for daily practice, under reference to the body of knowledge in the Rome report.

Hungin, A. P., Becher, A., Cayley, B., Heidelbaugh, J. J., Muris, J. W.,
Rubin, G., Seifert, A., Russell, N. De Wit, N. J.
(2015). Neurogastroenterol Motil, 27(6), 750-763
Abstract

Hungin, A. P. S., Molloy-Bland, M., Claes, R., Heidelbaugh, J.,
Cayley Jr, W. E., Muris, J., Rubin, G., Seifert, A., de Wit, N.
(2014). Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 40(10), 1133-1145.
Abstract