Abstract

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is commonly diagnosed when the typical symptoms of irregular bowel habit, abdominal pain and distension, and a feeling of incomplete defaecation are not associated with other gastro-intestinal disease. The management of the patient with IBS has been covered previously¹ but if dietary advice, reassurance and simple psychotherapy have proved unhelpful the doctor may be under pressure to prescribe as symptoms are usually recurrent. We now review the evidence to support the use of some antispasmodic drugs.