Table 1.
Summary of evidence for CAM treatments for IBS
| INTERVENTION | BODY OF EVIDENCE |
|---|---|
| Peppermint oil | 2 meta-analyses of 5 and 4 RCTs13,14 |
| Probiotics | Meta-analysis of 23 RCTs15 |
| Soluble fibre | Meta-analysis of 9 RCTs16 |
| Tong xie yao fang | Meta-analysis of 12 prospective trials17 |
| Hypnotherapy | 1 Cochrane and 3 other systematic reviews18–21 |
| CBT | 5 RCTs (3 individual CBT and 2 group CBT)22–26 |
CAM—complementary and alternative medicine, CBT—cognitive-behavioural therapy, IBS—irritable bowel syndrome, RCT—randomized controlled trial.