Francis et al developed a simple score for evaluating patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This can aid in the diagnosis and monitoring of patients over time. The authors are from University Hospital of South Manchester in England.
Patient selection: irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
Parameters:
(1) severity of abdominal pain on 10 cm (100 mm) VAS score (anchored from none to very severe)
(2) number of days with pain out of the past 10 days
(3) severity of abdominal distension on 10 cm (100 mm) VAS score (anchored from none to very severe)
(4) dissatisfaction with bowel habit on 10 cm (100 mm) VAS scale (anchored from very happy with no dissatisfaction to very unhappy)
(5) interference with life caused by IBS on 10 cm (100 mm) VAS scale (anchored from not at all to 100% interference)
Parameters
Points
abdominal pain
(mm on VAS scale)
number of days with pain out of past 10
10 * (number of days)
severity of abdominal distension
(mm on VAS scale)
dissatisfaction with bowel habit
(mm on VAS scale)
interference with life
(mm on VAS scale)
total score =
= SUM(points for all 5 parameters)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum score: 500
• The higher the score the more severe the IBS.
Score
Severity
< 75
"normal controls"
75 to 174
mild
175 to 300
moderate
> 300
severe
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