Acupuncture treatment in irritable bowel syndrome.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Despite occasional positive reports on the efficacy of acupuncture (AC) on functions of the gastrointestinal tract, there is no conclusive evidence that AC is effective in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Patients and methods

Forty three patients with IBS according to the Rome II criteria were randomly assigned to receive either AC (n = 22) or sham acupuncture (SAC) (n = 21) using the so-called "Streitberger needle". Treatment duration was 10 sessions with an average of two AC sessions per week. The primary end point was improvement in quality of life (QOL) using the functional digestive diseases quality of life questionnaire (FDDQL) and a general quality of life questionnaire (SF-36), compared with baseline assessments. QOL measurements w

SUBMITTER: Schneider A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1856122 | biostudies-literature | 2006 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature