Your approach assumes that SIBO and IBS are not intertwined. It possible they co-exist and perhaps inseparable or the same at least for some IBS individuals. One of the objectives of the study was to look at the relationship between IBS and SIBO which was stated as "The study also aimed to further investigate the relationship between SIBO and IBS in the context of co-morbid conditions and drug intake (specifically proton pump inhibitor use)."
Unlike celiac's, SIBO, Crohns, etc there isn't a biomarker for IBS giving researchers a reliable way to separate IBS from SIBO if they are separable. At the moment the only way to determine if IBS and SIBO coexist or are independent from each other is by screening using the ROME II criteria and then apply proven statistical methods to the findings like those used in the study. Also, it is difficult and it is expensive to screen for SIBO as they did in the study. And a gold standard test for SIBO has yet to be developed.
It will be interesting to see how the GI community reacts to the study. And it will interesting to see if it has any impact on the FDA approval of Rifaximin.
I cannot wait to see how the relationship between IBS and SIBO is eventually resolved.
-------------------- STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS
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Re: I'd like to see the people with SIBO screened out
