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A Randomised Controlled Trial of Psychotherapy in Patients with Refractory Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Elspeth Guthrie ,
Francis Creed ,
David Dawson  and
Barbara Tomenson
Elspeth Guthrie
Affiliation:
North West Regional Health Authority, Lecturer in Psychiatry, Manchester Royal Infirmary
Francis Creed*
Affiliation:
Rawnsley Building, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester M13 9WL
David Dawson
Affiliation:
Manchester Royal Infirmary, now Royal Northern Hospital, Sheffield
Barbara Tomenson
Affiliation:
Manchester Royal Infirmary
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

Patients with chronic, refractory irritable bowel syndrome (n =102) were entered into a randomised controlled trial of psychotherapy versus supportive listening. Independent physical and psychological assessments were carried out at the beginning and end of the 12-week trial. For women, psychotherapy was found to be superior to supportive listening, in terms of an improvement in both physical and psychological symptoms. There was a similar trend for men, but this did not reach significance. Following completion of the trial, patients in the control group were offered psychotherapy; 33 accepted and following treatment experienced a marked improvement in their symptoms; ten declined. At follow-up one year later, those patients who had received psychotherapy remained well, patients who had dropped out of the trial were unwell with severe symptoms, and most of the controls who declined psychotherapy had relapsed. This study shows that psychotherapy is feasible and effective in the majority of irritable bowel syndrome patients with chronic symptoms unresponsive to medical treatment.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 163 , Issue 3 , September 1993 , pp. 315 - 321
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1993 

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