Pubmed-A Single Question on Quality-of-Life Improvement Identifies Treatment Satisfaction in Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2026 Aug 20:S1542-3565(26)00629-4. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2026.07.041. Online ahead of print.

Irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) causes recurrent abdominal pain and

altered bowel habits, with substantial impacts on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and

healthcare utilization.

Although multiple pharmacologic therapies are available, treatment

benefit seen in routine practice may differ from outcomes observed in randomized controlled

trials, and patient dissatisfaction can remain unrecognized during clinical encounters. Existing

patient-reported outcome measures provide detailed assessments on symptom severity and

treatment satisfaction but are often too lengthy and burdensome for routine use.4 A single-item

assessment may offer a pragmatic alternative, but the best single question for capturing IBS

treatment satisfaction has not been established.5 We conducted the Joint Universal Single-item

Tool for Assessing Satisfaction and Key Metrics (Just Ask) Study to identify a single-item question

that best reflects medication satisfaction in IBS-C

PMID:42624391 | DOI:10.1016/j.cgh.2026.07.041

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