Alimentary Pharmabiotic Center, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

Correspondence: Eamonn M M Quigley, MD, FRCP, FACPFACG, FRCPI, Professor of Medicine and Human Physiology, Head of the Medical School Department of Medicine, Clinical Sciences Building Cork, University Hospital Cork, Ireland.

Received 28 September 2005; Accepted 1 November 2005.

Abstract

Gas-related symptoms are common in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), though their pathophysiology remains poorly understood, various studies invoking increased gas production, impaired gas transit, and increased sensitivity to gas. Recent evidence suggests a potential role for bacterial overgrowth in some patients with IBS; the study discussed herein provides further support for this concept by describing an amelioration of bloating and flatulence following a short course of the poorly absorbed antibiotic, rifaximin.