Managing Pain in Gut-Brain Interaction Disorders

An American Gastroenterological Association clinical practice update for gastrointestinal pain in disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI), published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, emphasizes patient-physician collaboration and improvement of patient understanding of the pathways and mechanisms of pain sensations. It is aimed at management of patients in whom pain persists after first-line therapies fail to resolve visceral causes of pain.

DGBIs include irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia, and centrally mediated abdominal pain syndrome, according to Laurie Keefer, PhD, AGAF, of the division of gastroenterology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, and colleagues. Initial treatment usually focuses on visceral triggers of pain such as food and bowel movements, but this approach is ineffective for many