Mirghani HO. Imaging findings of irritable bowel syndrome patients, and the diagnostic value of irritable bowel syndrome: A systematic review. World J Methodol 2025; 15(4): 99785 [DOI: 10.5662/wjm.v15.i4.99785]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Hyder Osman Mirghani, MD, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Tabuk, Prince Fahd Bin Sultan, Tabuk 51941, Saudi Arabia. s.hyder63@hotmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Systematic Reviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Methodol. Dec 20, 2025; 15(4): 99785 Published online Dec 20, 2025. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v15.i4.99785
Imaging findings of irritable bowel syndrome patients, and the diagnostic value of irritable bowel syndrome: A systematic review
Hyder Osman Mirghani
Hyder Osman Mirghani, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk 51941, Saudi Arabia
Author contributions: Mirghani HO performed the conception and design of the study, the literature search, and the drafting, critical revision, and provided the final approval of the version to be published.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author declares there are no conflicts of interest.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hyder Osman Mirghani, MD, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Tabuk, Prince Fahd Bin Sultan, Tabuk 51941, Saudi Arabia. s.hyder63@hotmail.com
Received: July 30, 2024 Revised: March 24, 2025 Accepted: April 8, 2025 Published online: December 20, 2025 Processing time: 370 Days and 5.5 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a prevalent functional gastrointestinal (FGITD) disorder, the diagnosis is based on Rome Criteria and other subjective tools. Because IBS overlaps with other FGITD and organic diseases, and the subjective tools do not apply to patients with cognitive decline, objective diagnostic tools are important in this category of patients.
AIM
To discuss the role of imaging in IBS diagnosis.
METHODS
We systematically searched three databases for articles published in the English language with no limitation to a specific period. The literature search was conducted in June and July 2024. The keywords used are IBS and functional bowel disorders, computed tomography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, functional brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and static brain MRI, and were linked with the terms "AND" and "OR". Out of the 679 articles, 578 remained after duplication removal. However, 50 full texts were used in the review.
RESULTS
Magnetic resonance imaging is superior due to its sensitivity, lack of radiation exposure, and lack of need for bowel preparation. Patients with IBS had smaller colonic and rectal volumes compared to healthy controls and functional constipation. Dynamic and static Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the brain showed increased activity, thinning, and increased volumes in specific areas of pain modulation. The above abnormalities are not uniform and vary significantly according to the type of IBS, the duration and intensity of symptoms, gender, and culture.
CONCLUSION
Magnetic resonance imaging shows smaller colonic and rectal volumes, and increased activity, thinning, and increased volumes in specific areas of pain modulation. Large trials incorporating all above limitations are needed.
Core Tip: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a prevalent brain-gut axis disorder, however, the diagnosis is based mainly on Rome Criteria which concentrates on the gastrointestinal tract with ignorance of the brain-gut axis. Furthermore, the Rome criteria are not suitable for patients with cognitive decline. Therefore, tools to address the above diagnostic gaps are highly relevant. In this review, we gave a broader insight into the role of abdominal and brain imaging in diagnosing IBS. The findings, the difference between diarrhea-predominant and constipation-predominant IBS, gender, geography, and cultural background, and the pros and cons of different imaging were discussed.
