Two cases of irritable bowel syndrome in the elderly successfully treated with acupuncture / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

ABSTRACT

[Background] Elderly people often have disturbances of bowel habits, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). IBS is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders, affecting more than 15% of the general population. It is characterized by a wide variety of persistent symptoms (abdominal pain or discomfort, bloating, transit disorders) without any clear organic causes. Because medical treatments are sometimes ineffective, some patients with IBS seek alternative therapies to manage the condition. There is very little research examining IBS in the elderly. We report two elderly patients with IBS successfully treated with acupuncture.<br>[Cases and Methods] A 72-year-old woman and an 88-year-old man with IBS were treated with acupuncture according to theory of traditional Chinese medicine. Gastrointestinal Symptoms Rating Scale (GSRS), frequency of defecation, softness of the stool, intensity of abdominal pain or abdominal fullness were recorded over the periods.<br>During the treatment period, both patients showed a remarkable improvement in lower abdominal pain, bloating and quality of life evaluated with GSRS.<br>[Result and Discussion] In both cases, acupuncture treatment was effective for alleviating abdominal symptoms with IBS. The result of these cases indicated that acupuncture might be useful for the management of the condition with elderly IBS.