Change in quality of life for patients with irritable bowel syndrome following referral to a gastroenterologist: a cohort study

Canavan, Caroline; West, Joe; Card, Timothy R.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a chronic functional condition, considerably reduces quality of life (QoL) and referral to gastroenterology is common. Until now, however, the impact of seeing a gastroenterologist for IBS on patients’ QoL and utility has not been assessed.

METHODS: Patients referred with “probable IBS” to the Nottingham Treatment Centre between October 2012 and March 2014 were invited to complete a QoL questionnaire (EuroQol–5 Dimension) before their first appointment. Patients with confirmed IBS who completed this baseline assessment were sent follow-up questionnaires three and twelve months later. Global QoL and utility were measured at each time point and change from baseline calculated. Paired t-tests analysed the significance of any change.

RESULTS: Of 205 invited patients, 69 were eligible and recruited. Response at three and twelve months was 45% and 17% respectively. Median global QoL at baseline was 67.5 (Interquartile range [IQR] 50.0 to 80.0), with a mean increase of 3.25 (95% confidence interval [CI] -5.38 to 11.88) three months later and a mean decrease of -1.82 (95% CI -16.01 to 12.38) after one year. The median utility at baseline was 0.76 (IQR 0.69 to 0.80), with a mean increase of 0.06 (95%CI -0.01 to 0.14) at three months and no change, 0.00 (-0.16 to 0.16), after one year.

CONCLUSION: Patients experienced a small but not statistically significant increase in QoL and utility three months after seeing a gastroenterologist for IBS, which was not maintained. Gastroenterology referral does not appear to appreciably improve Qol for most people with IBS.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Oct 2, 2015
• Deposit Date: Apr 6, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 6, 2016
• Journal: Plos One
• Electronic ISSN: 1932-6203
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 10
• Article Number: e0139389
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0139389
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/764673
• Publisher URL: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0139389
• Related Public URLs: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4591971/