Dietary management of functional bowel disorders in outpatient clinics: A retrospective audit

Background Dietary interventions for managing functional bowel disorders are numerous and varied. Aim To describe service utilisation patterns and dietary care offered to patients with functional bowel disorders in an outpatient dietetics clinic. Methods A retrospective clinical audit of adults (n = 30) with a functional bowel disorder. Patient characteristics, dietary interventions and service-related indicators were extracted from patient records. Summary Most patients were female (93%) and aged under 35 years (67%). The wait time to see a dietitian was 4 months and patients were in the service for 20 months. All patients received dietary education, half received artificial nutrition, 40% were recommended supplements, and 30% advised on behavioural modifications. Only one patient was discharged due to the resolution of symptoms following dietetic involvement. This may have been due to the small sample size and focus on symptom resolution rather than a range of outcome measures such as quality of life. Novel interventions for this cohort are warranted.