VIDEO: Survey reveals need for increased dialogue, awareness surrounding GI conditions
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Severe gastrointestinal conditions, such as exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, were difficult to recognize and often misdiagnosed, according to survey results from the American Gastroenterological Association.
“One of the things that was striking to us from this survey of over 1,000 Americans is that over half of the respondents had experienced some type of GI symptom within the last 12 months that significantly interfered with their daily living,” Phil Hart, MD, a gastroenterologist with The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, said in a Healio Gastroenterology video exclusive. “Unfortunately, over a quarter of those respondents with symptoms never discussed those with a health care provider.”
Though 49% of respondents reported experiencing GI symptoms impacting their daily lives, 53% said GI disorders were never discussed during doctor appointments. Specifically, 72% reported unfamiliarity with the differences between exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) and other GI disorders with 99% reporting they had never heard of EPI at all.
“This is an important take home message — for all of us as clinicians — is to be aware that some patients for a variety of different reasons may just feel uncomfortable or unwilling to bring up their symptoms,” Hart continued. “This is something that we need to carefully work to tease out in our clinical encounters.”
These findings further underscored the need for increased GI health dialogue and awareness surrounding EPI and other concerning conditions.
Reference:
AGA GI Patient Center. https://gastro.org/practice-guidance/gi-patient-center/. Accessed: Nov. 10, 2021.
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