Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is typically monitored using retrospective symptom assessments, which are prone to recall and ecological biases, often leading to exaggerated symptom reports. This study evaluated the validity and reliability of an electronic experience sampling method (ESM)-based patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) designed for real-time IBS symptom assessment. Involving 230 patients with IBS across multiple European centers, the study demonstrated strong validity and reliability of the ESM-PROM, showing robust correlations with traditional end-of-day diaries but with significantly less symptom exaggeration.

The ESM-PROM effectively captured moment-to-moment variability and real-life symptom patterns, providing more precise insights into symptom fluctuations and their triggers compared to retrospective methods. While more demanding in terms of patient compliance, the method had high adherence (71% completion rate), demonstrated good-to-excellent internal consistency, and excellent test-retest reliability. These findings suggest that ESM-PROM represents a valuable clinical tool for personalized IBS management, offering accurate symptom tracking and improved monitoring of treatment response.

Reference: Bosman M, Vork L, Jonkers D, et al. Results From a Psychometric Validation Study: Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome Report Higher Symptom Burden Using End-of-Day Vs Real-Time Assessment. Am J Gastroenterol. 2024 Sep 23. doi: 10.14309/ajg.0000000000003091. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39311432.