Cover-Rome-IV-3D-SmallThe Rome Foundation, dedicated to improving the lives of people with Functional gastrointestinal (GI) Disorders, will announce new diagnostic criteria next month to update the recommended methods for diagnosing more than twenty different gastrointestinal disorders. The new Rome IV diagnostic criteria will be officially released at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) in San Diego California, May 21-25, 2016. Rome criteria are developed by teams of top experts in Functional GI disorders and have been used since 1989. They have become the most influential standard for defining Functional GI Disorders, which are the most common diagnoses among patients consulting gastroenterologists and primary care physicians for symptoms from the GI tract. The new Rome IV version of these criteria can be expected to shape research on these disorders and how patients are diagnosed and treated for the next decade.

“The Rome IV process has included the work of more than 120 investigators and clinicians from around the world,” commented Dr. Douglas Drossman, President of the Rome Foundation. “The release of these new criteria and the associated publications is the culmination of five years of work and is based on decades of research. It is an update that reflects our latest scientific knowledge and the current consensus about these disorders by the leading experts in our field.”

The Rome Foundation will introduce six new books in print and online formats in support of the new criteria. These Rome IV books are designed to be of use for both researchers and clinicians. The six titles are:

  • Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders – Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction (volumes 1 and 2)
  • Multidimensional Clinical Profile for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders: MDCP
  • Diagnostic Algorithms for Common GI Symptoms
  • Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders for Primary Care and Non-GI Clinicians
  • Pediatric Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders – Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction
  • Diagnostic Questionnaires and Tables for Investigators and Clinicians

All publications are available in print and ebook formats, and can be pre-ordered online at www.theromefoundation.org/products or by visiting Booth #4525 at Digestive Disease Week 2016 in San Diego, California May 21-25.

About The Rome Foundation

The mission of The Rome Foundation is to improve the lives of people with functional GI disorders. As an independent not-for-profit organization, The Rome Foundation provides support for scientific research and the development of educational information to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs).
Over the last 17 years, The Rome Foundation has sought to legitimize and update our knowledge of the FGIDs. This has been accomplished by bringing together scientists and clinicians from around the world to classify and critically appraise the science of gastrointestinal function and dysfunction. This work has enabled the experts convened by the Foundation to make recommendations for diagnosis and treatment that can be applied in research and clinical practice. These recommendations are provided in the Foundation’s publications and reflected in the Rome diagnostic criteria.

For more information, or to set up an interview with Dr. Doug Drossman, President of The Rome Foundation onsite at DDW 2016 or via phone, contact Chuck Hester at chuck@bigthinkin.com or direct at 919/607-1522.