Aim: To study efficacy of the Rome criteria II in diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Material and methods: The examination was made of 288 consecutive patients with an IBS diagnosis admitted to the hospital from January to December 2002.
Results: The IBS diagnosis was confirmed in the specialized hospital in 74 (25.8%) of 288 patients admitted with this diagnosis. Of 61 patients, whose diagnosis met the Rome criteria, the IBS diagnosis was not confirmed in 7 patients (11.4%).
Conclusion: Out of 288 patients admitted to a gastroenterological hospital, 78.8% patients were diagnosed at the prehospital stage not basing on the Rome criteria and appeared erroneous in 70.1%. The analysis of the anxiety causes identified different intestinal diseases in 78.5% cases, the diagnosis of IBS was confirmed in the rest cases. Specificity of the Rome criteria II was 88.6%, sensitivity 82.4%. This provides a reliable diagnosis of IBS.