SeHCAT (tauroselcholic [75 selenium] acid) for diagnosing bile acid diarrhoea

NICE has not recommended SeHCAT (tauroselcholic [75 selenium] acid) for routine use to diagnose bile acid diarrhoea in people with:

• chronic diarrhoea with an unknown cause, suspected or diagnosed diarrhoea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS‑D) or functional diarrhoea
• Crohn’s disease without ileal resection who have chronic diarrhoea.

NICE recognises that a good test is needed for bile acid diarrhoea but there is not enough clinical evidence about how using the SeHCAT test affects long‑term clinical outcomes. We have recommended research to find out more.

SeHCAT is a diagnostic test to measure how well the body absorbs bile acids. It is a capsule that when swallowed is absorbed by the body like a bile acid and can be detected with a scan. The scan sees how much SeHCAT remains in the body. If this is less than 15% then bile acid diarrhoea is usually diagnosed.

ISBN: 978-1-4731-4330-2