Table 1.

Agreement between Symptom-Based Criteria and Physician Diagnosis

Source	Inclusion Criteria	Design	Results
Chey et al, 2002	Women who reported IBS, irritable colon or spastic colon on telephone screen. 1014 interviews completed.	Random digit dialing to identify sample. Rome I and Rome II criteria tested. Specificity not evaluable.	Sensitivity: Rome I, 0.83; Rome II, 0.47.
Vandvik et al, 2004	Patients reported abdominal complaints in last 3 months for which they would consult, and GP made diagnosis. 553 met criteria for analysis.	Consecutive patients attending Norwegian GPs completed Rome II symptom questionnaire prior to visit. GP reported diagnosis after visit.	Sensitivity, 0.39; Specificity, 0.63 for Rome II (computed from Table II).
Lea et al, 2004	100 patients diagnosed IBS by experienced British gastroenterologist.	Manning, Rome I, and Rome II questionnaires completed following medical diagnosis. Specificity not evaluable.	Sensitivity: Manning (2/6 symptoms), 0.94; Rome I, 0.82; Rome II, 0.73.
Whitehead et al, 2006	HMO patients with prior medical diagnosis of IBS (n=575), abdominal pain (373), constipation (211), or diarrhea (275). Permission to review medical record and exclusion of IBD required.	Rome II questionnaire completed by post. Medical charts reviewed by trained chart abstractors. For estimation of sensitivity and specificity, patients with medical record of IBD, GI malignancy, or malabsorption were pooled with abdominal pain, constipation and diarrhea as non-IBS.	Sensitivity, 0.60; Specificity, 0.56.