Table 2.

Use of SeHCAT or therapeutic trial to diagnose bile acid diarrhoea in specific clinical situations

Condition	Proportion requesting test (%)
	SeHCAT					Therapeutic trial
	Always	Usually	Sometimes	Rarely	Never	Always	Usually	Sometimes	Rarely	Never
‘How often would you request [this test], in a patient without other significant findings on history or examination …’
‘… with episodic diarrhoea for >6 months, without predominant abdominal pain or bothersome bloating …’
‘… with >25% of the stools in the last 3 months being BSFS type 6/7?’	65	15	15	5	0	0	10	20	20	30
‘… with >25% of the stools being BSFS type 6/7 starting after cholecystectomy?’	38	33	19	10	0	7	29	14	29	21
‘… in Crohn’s disease with diarrhoea, ileal resection of 50–100 cm, and … ’
‘…negative inflammatory markers?’	32	16	26	11	16	31	19	25	13	13
‘…raised inflammatory markers?’	21	11	21	11	38	7	0	14	36	43
‘… with features of IBS* …’
‘… with episodic diarrhoea in the last 3 months, with >25% of stools type 6/7, and <25% type 1/2?’	45	25	25	5	0	0	14	7	36	43
‘… with variable bowel habit in the last 3 months, with >25% of stools type 6/7, and >25% type 1/2?’	19	24	19	29	10	0	7	31	0	62
‘… with variable bowel habit in the last 3 months, with <25% of stools type 6/7, and >25% type 1/2?’	20	15	15	25	25	0	0	14	14	71

Inflammatory markers=serum C reactive protein and faecal calprotectin.

The following figures were suggested as an indication of the estimated frequency:.

‘Always‘=>99%; ‘Usually‘=>70%; ‘Sometimes‘=30%–70%; ‘Rarely‘=<30%; ‘Never‘=<1%.

*Features of IBS=abdominal pain>1 day/week, related to defaecation and associated with change in frequency or form of stool for >6 months.

BSFS, Bristol Stool Form Scale; IBS, irritable bowel syndrome.