BAD UK are delighted to share with you the revised 3rd addition of the Guidelines for Investigation of Chronic Diarrhoea In Adults (3rd Edition) which have just been published. BAD is now a significant feature of these guidelines and they recommend that:
► If functional bowel disease or IBS-diarrhoea is suspected, we recommend that bile acid diarrhoea should be excluded with either 75SeHCAT testing or fasting serum C4 (7α hydroxy- 4-cholesten-3-one) levels. A test and treat approach is recommended as opposed to blind empirical therapy unless no diagnostic test is available (Grade of evidence level 1, Strength of recommendation strong).
We were invited to be part of the working development group as patient advocates along with Lawrence Kelman. Being part of this working group opened our eyes into the amount of hard work , time and dedication undertaken by the NHS clinicians to develop these guidelines to ensure patients receive the most up to date investigation pathways. A huge thanks to them.
This is an excellent step forward to help others be diagnosed much earlier and increase the awareness of the condition with clinicians.
The guidelines can be accessed here.