Effect of Acupuncture Treatment in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome-A Series of Single Case Study- / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

ABSTRACT

[Background/aim] Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders, affecting more than 15 % of Western populations. 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. The aim of the present study was to investigate the clinical effect of acupuncture treatment in patients with IBS.<BR>[Method] Four patients with IBS were treated with acupuncture according to the way of Traditional Chinese Medicine. We employed reversal single-case study design in which an acupuncture treatment period (“period B”) was alternated with no treatment period (“period A”). Ten or twenty times acupuncture therapies were performed during the “period B” and the length of the “period A” was comparable with the “period B” GSRS, frequency of defecation, softness of the stool, intensity of abdominal pain or abdominal fullness, and POMS were recorded over the periods.<BR>[Results] During the “period B”, three patients showed a remarkable improvement in lower abdominal pain, abdominal fullness and QOL evaluated with GSRS, while the psychological condition evaluated with POMS showed inconsistent changes without a remarkable improvement.<BR>[Conclusion] The result of our study indicated that acupuncture might be useful for the management of IBS.