Studies of a Flatulent Patient

The physician seldom deals rationally with a patient complaining of excessive flatus. Lacking measurements of rectal gas volumes, excessive gas excretion is not documented. Evaluation usually consists of x-ray and endoscopic studies, when, in truth, there is no known cause of excessive flatus that such procedures might identify. As a result, psychologic or medical therapy (or both) is administered without knowledge of the cause of the problem. We studied an unusual patient who documented his flatulence by means of a meticulous recording of the time of each passage of gas. Case Report and Results A 28-year-old man had a five-year.