WASHINGTON – A new blood test could conclusively determine if a patient with chronic diarrhea has diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (D-IBS).
The IBSchek blood test detects the presence of antibodies to cytolethal distending toxin B and vinculin. In a study presented at the annual Digestive Disease Week and published in PLoS ONE, the positive predictive value for D-IBS of just one of the antibodies was greater than 98%, explained study lead author Dr. Mark Pimentel of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles. If the test is positive for both antibodies, “the post-test probability is 95% that you have IBS.”
In a video interview, Dr. Pimentel discussed the study’s findings and the potential impact for physicians and patients. The search for diagnostic answers leads to “a lot of doctor-shopping, certainly a lot of colonoscopies and unnecessary testing that are always negative with these patients,” he noted. “Maybe this will put an end to that.
“People used to think this is all psychological,” Dr. Pimentel added. “Now we can say, No, it’s organic. There’s something real going on; I’ve got a test that proves that.”
Dr. Pimentel has received consulting fees from Commonwealth Laboratories, which makes the IBSchek blood test.