Table 4.
Study parameters at week 8 and changes from baseline in diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome patients (mean ± SD)
| Test group (n = 19) | Control group (n = 16) | P value1 | |||||||
| Baseline | wk 8 | Δ wk 8 | P value | Baseline | wk 8 | Δ wk 8 | P value | ||
| Abdominal symptoms | |||||||||
| Abdominal pain or discomfort (VAS) | 32.89 ± 14.56 | 9.21 ± 14.93 | -23.68 | 0 | 29.69 ± 10.08 | 20.3 ± 18.8 | -9.38 | 0.083 | 0.05 |
| Frequency of abdominal pain or discomfort/d | 2.45 ± 3.18 | 0.63 ± 0.83 | -1.82 | 0.036 | 1.25 ± 0.71 | 0.91 ± 0.94 | -0.34 | 0.245 | 0.117 |
| Abdominal distension or bloating (VAS) | 43.42 ± 23.34 | 25.00 ± 20.41 | -18.42 | 0.012 | 35.94 ± 15.73 | 29.69 ± 20.85 | -6.25 | 0.164 | 0.146 |
| Flatulence/wk | 4.63 ± 2.36 | 4.08 ± 2.67 | -0.55 | 0.503 | 4.66 ± 2.15 | 5.50 ± 3.38 | 0.84 | 0.255 | 0.212 |
| Bowel habit | |||||||||
| Defecation frequency/wk | 10.55 ± 8.18 | 8.79 ± 4.46 | -1.76 | 0.381 | 9.09 ± 4.19 | 9.09 ± 4.12 | 0 | 1 | 0.451 |
| Defecation duration (min) | 6.66 ± 5.57 | 6.58 ± 4.98 | -0.08 | 0.938 | 8.00 ± 4.75 | 7.03 ± 3.81 | -0.97 | 0.3 | 0.52 |
| Urgency | 10 (52.6%) | 8 (42.1%) | -2 | 0.625 | 12 (75.0%) | 11 (68.8%) | -1 | 1 | 0.867 |
| Straining | 8 (42.1%) | 3 (15.8%) | -5 | 0.063 | 7 (43.8%) | 2 (12.5%) | -5 | 0.063 | 0.707 |
| Feeling of incomplete evacuation | 13 (68.4%) | 6 (31.6%) | -7 | 0.039 | 12 (75.0%) | 5 (31.3%) | -7 | 0.016 | 0.826 |
| Stool consistency (BSS) | 5.42 ± 1.17 | 4.16 ± 0.38 | -1.26 | 0.001 | 5.50 ± 1.10 | 4.88 ± 1.09 | -0.63 | 0.036 | 0.738 |
| Bowel habit satisfaction | 31.58 ± 18.34 | 64.47 ± 19.21 | 32.9 | 0 | 40.63 ± 15.48 | 48.44 ± 17.00 | 7.81 | 0.173 | 0.006 |
| Discomfort related to daily life (VAS) | 36.84 ± 24.11 | 23.68 ± 25.65 | -13.16 | 0.163 | 29.69 ± 13.60 | 28.13 ± 17.97 | -1.56 | 0.751 | 0.292 |
| Improvement in overall IBS symptoms (VAS) | 61.8 ± 17.4 | 51.6 ± 14.3 | 0.07 | ||||||
1
Comparison between both groups. IBS: Irritable bowel syndrome; VAS: Visual analog scale; BSS: Bristol stool scale.