For nearly a year, Ms. N.T. H. (38 years old, office worker in Ho Chi Minh City) lived in a feeling of anxiety because of recurrent abdominal pain. There were days when she had to go to the toilet 4-5 times due to diarrhea, but there were also periods when she could not defecate for many consecutive days. Every time she finished eating, her stomach was full and bloated, making her not dare to attend meetings or go on long business trips.
Worried about developing colorectal cancer or dangerous digestive diseases, she successively underwent gastroscopy, colonoscopy, abdominal ultrasound and many other tests. However, all results were almost normal.
Only when she was thoroughly examined by a gastroenterology specialist doctor about symptoms, frequency of abdominal pain, bowel characteristics and excluded warning signs, was she diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a fairly common digestive dysfunction that often makes patients confused because of prolonged symptoms even though physical damage is not detected.
At the Scientific Conference "Updating Diagnosis and Treatment of Liver and Gallbladder Digestive Diseases 2026" held at Hong Bang International Hospital on August 1st, Dr. Ho Tan Phat, Head of the Department of Gastroenterology, Cho Ray Hospital, said that IBS is a functional disease of the lower digestive tract, common at all levels of health, from clinics to specialized hospitals. Patients may experience abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, diarrhea or alternating both conditions, lasting for many months but no physical damage is detected through conventional tests.
According to doctors, studies around the world show that about 4.3% of the population has IBS. In Vietnam, a study in 2020 recorded a rate of about 14.4% in the surveyed group. Although not a dangerous disease, IBS significantly affects the quality of life and can cause many symptoms outside the digestive tract such as muscle pain, back pain, sleep disorders, anxiety and stress.
To treat patients with this IBS syndrome, doctors will now use a new diagnosis standard set, Romve V, to help detect the disease early and limit missed patients.
Another important change is that doctors can diagnose IBS based on typical symptoms, instead of requiring endoscopy to rule out the disease as before. However, patients still need colonoscopy if they have warning signs such as unexplained weight loss, bloody stools, prolonged fever, symptoms appearing at night or family history of colorectal cancer.
According to Dr. Ho Tan Phat, IBS treatment needs to take patients as the center, based on outstanding symptoms and needs of each person. The goal is not only to reduce abdominal pain, constipation or diarrhea but also to help patients restore their quality of life and proactively control the disease for a long time.
