Irritable bowel syndrome or endometriosis, or both?

Lea R, Richard Lea, R Lea, Peter J. Whorwell, P J Whorwell
European journal of gastroenterology & hepatology · 2003 · vol. 15(10) , pp. 1131–1133 · doi:10.1097/00042737-200310000-00012 · PMID:14501624 · W2153780202
Case report OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 17 in-corpus citations
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This case report describes a patient whose irritable bowel syndrome diagnosis was reevaluated following laparotomy for small bowel obstruction, revealing concomitant endometriosis.

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This case report describes a patient initially diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome who was later found to have endometriosis causing small bowel obstruction during surgery. The authors note that while symptomatic gastrointestinal endometriosis is rare, it can mimic other conditions and lead to diagnostic uncertainty. They emphasize the importance of questioning an irritable bowel syndrome diagnosis when clinical features are ambiguous or unexplained by typical pathology. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — specifically its rare presentation as small bowel obstruction masquerading as irritable bowel syndrome.

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Abstract

Both irritable bowel syndrome and endometriosis are common conditions, although symptomatic gastrointestinal endometriosis is extremely rare. We report the case of a patient initially thought to have irritable bowel syndrome, in whom the diagnosis of endometriosis only became clear following a laparotomy for small bowel obstruction. This case highlights the need to question the diagnosis in patients with irritable bowel syndrome when there is any uncertainty, and also to appreciate that other pathology can arise, even when the diagnosis is secure.
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Case reports Irritable bowel syndrome or endometriosis, or both? - R Lea - P J Whorwell European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology 15(10):p 1131-1133, October 2003. Both irritable bowel syndrome and endometriosis are common conditions, although symptomatic gastrointestinal endometriosis is extremely rare. We report the case of a patient initially thought to have irritable bowel syndrome, in whom the diagnosis of endometriosis only became clear following a laparotomy for small bowel obstruction. This case highlights the need to question the diagnosis in patients with irritable bowel syndrome when there is any uncertainty, and also to appreciate that other pathology can arise, even when the diagnosis is secure. Copyright © 2003 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.

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Condition tags

endometriosisirritable_bowel_syndrome

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Ileal Diseases Irritable Bowel Syndrome Adult Adult Diagnosis, Differential Diagnosis, Differential Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Female Humans Humans Ileal Diseases Ileal Diseases Intestinal Obstruction Intestinal Obstruction Intestinal Obstruction Intestinal Obstruction

Citation neighborhood (2-hop)

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. Outer rings show 2-hop neighbours — papers reached through the immediate citers/citees. [ collapse to 1-hop ]

References (12)

Cited by (18)

Source provenance

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License: CC0 · commercial use OK