A real-world study published in Frontiers in Gastroenterology examined whether IBS-Smart and Trio-Smart testing was associated with differences in healthcare resource utilization among adults with suspected irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Researchers reviewed records from 219 patients treated at two U.S. gastroenterology practices and compared patients who received neither test with those who received IBS-Smart, Trio-Smart, or both.
Patients who underwent testing had lower observed use of certain downstream diagnostic procedures, including colonoscopy and upper endoscopy, as well as lower captured diagnostic and gastroenterology office-visit costs. Colonoscopy was performed in 60.7% of patients who received neither test, compared with 50.0% of those receiving IBS-Smart alone, 53.5% receiving Trio-Smart alone, and 27.3% receiving both. Among patients first seen in 2018 or later, captured diagnostic and GI office-visit costs averaged approximately 360–385 per patient per month in the tested groups, compared with $960.39 among those who received neither test.
The study also found greater diagnostic persistence among tested patients, meaning the diagnosis recorded in the chart remained stable over time. However, the authors cautioned that this reflects consistency in documentation and should not be interpreted as proof of diagnostic accuracy.