Study	Reason for exclusion
Achord 1979	Not an RCT
Alevizos 1989	Not appropriate patients: depressive patients with IBS
Andre 1979	Mixed intervention: composite of oxazepam and scopolamine butyl nitrate
Anonymous 1966	Not an RCT
Anonymous 1976	No extractable results
Anonymous 1982	Not an RCT
Anonymous 1986	Not an RCT; a review
Anonymous 1995	Not an RCT
Anonymous 1998	Not an RCT
Anonymous 2002a	Not an RCT
Anonymous 2002b	Not an RCT
Anonymous 2008	Not an RCT; a report from Ford 2008
Arffmann 1985	Cross‐over study; no first phase data available
Awad 1997	Not outcome of interest; post‐prandial motility
Baldi 1992	Duplicate publication with Baldi 1991
Barbier 1981	Cross‐over study; no first phase data available
Bassotti 1988	Not an RCT
Baume 1972	Cross‐over study; no first phase data available
Bazzocchi 1992	Not outcome of interest; anorectal function
Berthelot 1981	Only 28% of patients had true IBS. Separate results were not available for these patients
Birt 1989	Not available
Bixquert‐Jimenez 2005	Not an RCT
Block 1983	Duplicate publication with Myren 1982
Bosaeus 2004	Not an RCT; a review
Bouchoucha 2000	Not outcome of interest; colonic response to food
Budavari 2002	Not an RCT
Burden 2001	Not an RCT; a review
Camarri 1981	Cross‐over study; no first phase data available
Camarri 1986	No placebo group; comparing fenoverine and trimebutine
Camatte 1966	Not an RCT
Cann 1984	Cross‐over study; no first phase data available
Capron 1981	Mixed intervention; composite of bulk, sedative and laxative
Capurso 1984	Cross over design with no parallel placebo administration in the first phase
Capurso 1992	Mixed intervention; composite of octylonium bromide and diazepam
Carling 1989	Cross‐over study with no reporting of outcomes before first cross‐over
Cerrato 2001	Inappropriate patients; children
Chapman 1990	No placebo; comparing mebeverine with high‐fibre dietary advice and mebeverine with ispaghula
Chassany 2007	Inapproptiate patients; acute exacerbation
Chen 1999	No placebo; comparing Alverine/dimeticone and nifedipine
Chen 2004a	No placebo
Chevrel 1978	No placebo
Chicharro 2007	Not an RCT
Christen 1990	Not an RCT; a review
Clouse 1994	Not an RCT; a chart review
Clouse 2003	Not an RCT; a review
Cook 1990	Cross‐over study; no first phase data available
Copé 1981	No placebo; comparing clidiniumbromide‐chlordiazepoxide and trimebutine
Corazza 1983	No placebo; comparing pinaverium bromide and trimebutine
Corazziari 1999	Not an RCT; a review
Creed 2003	No placebo; comparing SSRI and psychotherapy with usual care
Creed 2006	Not an RCT; a review
Crowell 2004	Not an RCT; a review
Curtiss 2008	Not an RCT
Czimmer 2001	Not outcome of interest; sensory thresholds and recto‐sigmoideal distention
Darnis 1980	No placebo; comparing bran and kaologenis
De Groote 1968	Not an RCT
de la Garoullaye 1991	No placebo; comparing fenoverine with PVOO and karaya gum
Defrance 1991	No placebo; comparing otilonium and pinaverium bromide
Delvaux 1997	Not an RCT; a review
Dettmar 1998	Not an RCT
Dettmar 1999	No placebo; comparing ispaghula husk with mebeverine and mebeverine with high fibre diet
Dew 1984	Cross‐over study; no first phase data available
Diaz‐Rubio 1985	Not available
Dioguardi 1991	No placebo; comparing octilonium bromide‐diazepam and propantheline bromide‐bromazepam
Dubinin 1987	No placebo; comparing bran and bran with other drugs
Ehsanullah 1985	Not outcome of interest; motility index
Eisenburg 1978	Not an RCT
Evangelista 2004	Not an RCT; a review
Evans 1996	Not outcome of interest; motility index
Ferrari 1986	No placebo; comparing octylonium bromide and cimetropium bromide
Fielding 1979	Not an RCT
Fielding 1984	No placebo; comparing different dietary fibres
Fioramonti 1988	Not outcome of interest; colonic motility
Floch 1988	Not an RCT
Francis 1994	Not an RCT
Frexinos 1985	Not outcome of interest; colonic motility
Fritz 1967	Not an RCT
Galeone 1986a	No placebo; comparing tiropramide, trimebutine and octilonium bromide
Galeone 1986b	No placebo; comparing pinaverium bromide and otilonium bromide
Geismar 1971	No extractable results; no clinically relevant data, only preferences
Geoffroy 1977	No placebo
Giaccari 2001	Not an RCT; patients divided in two groups bases on BMI
Giannini 2006	Not an RCT
Gibbons 1979	Not an RCT; a letter
Gilbody 2000	No placebo; comparing two different formulations of mebeverine hydrochloride
Glende 2002	Double‐publication with Battaglia 1998
Gnauck 1977	Not an RCT
Golechha 1982	Cross‐over study; no first phase data available
Gorard 1994	Not outcome of interest; whole gut and orocaecal transit times
Gorard 1995	Not outcome of interest; small intestinal motility
Greenbaum 1981	Not an RCT; a letter
Greenbaum 1984	Duplicate publication with Greenbaum 1987
Greenbaum 1987	Cross‐over study; no first phase data available
Grigoleit 2005	Not an RCT; a review
Guerre 1979	No placebo; comparing karay gum and polyvinylpolypyrrolidone
Halpert 2005	Duplicate publication; paper based on same patients as Drossman 2003
Han 2009	Duplicate publication; same patients as Masand 2009
Hebden 2002	Cross‐over study; no first phase data available
Herxheimer 1979	Not an RCT; a letter
Hotz 1994	No placebo
Houghton 1997	Not outcome of interest; colonic motility
Inauen 1994	No placebo; comparing mebeverine slow release and mebeverine tablets
Iwanaga 2002	Not an RCT; a review
Jackson 1998	Not an RCT
Jafri 2006	Not an RCT
Jayanthi 1998	Not an RCT
Ji 2007	Inappropriate patients; patients with functional bowel disorder not specified as IBS
Jing 2004	No placebo
Kaushik 2002	Not an RCT
Kirsch 2000	Not an RCT; a case report
Koch 1998	Double publication with Liu 1997
Koruda 1993	Not an RCT
Kountouras 2002	Inappropriate patients; patients with GERD, who also have IBS
Kumar 1987	No placebo; comparing different doses of ispaghula husk
Kunze 1990	No Placebo; comparing brief psychotherapy, acupuncture and papaverin
Lafon 1982	No data extractable
Lambert 1989	Not an RCT; a survey
Lambert 1991a	Not an RCT
Lambert 1991b	Inappropriate intervention; dietary advice
Lawson 1988	Cross‐over study; no first phase data available
Levitan 1981	Inappropriate patients; mixed IBS and diverticulosis
Lin 2003	Not outcome of interest; anorectal visceral sensorimotor functions
Liu 2006	Not an RCT
Locke 2004	Not an RCT; a review article
Lu 2000	No placebo; comparing pinaverlum bromide and mebeverine
Luttecke 1978	Not outcome of interest; only preference
Luttecke 1980	Cross‐over study; no first phase data available
Lydiard 2007	Not an RCT
MacRae 1979	Not an RCT; a letter
Manning 1976	No placebo
Manning 1977	No placebo; Comparing high and low‐fibre diet
Marks 2008	Duplicate publication; same patients as Masand 2009
Masamune 1998	No placebo; comparing calcium polycarbophil and torimebutine maleate
Masand 2002	Not an RCT
Masand 2005	Not an RCT
Matts 1967	No extractable data
Meier 1996	Mixed intervention; psyllium and Cisapride versus placebo
Miller 2006	Not an RCT
Misra 1989	Not the appropriate patients; patients who had recovered completely after treatment
Modena 1993	No placebo
Mollica 1992	No placebo; comparing Otilonium bromide‐diazepam and otilonium bromide
Morgan 2005	Cross‐over study; no first phase data available
Morrison 1987	Not outcome of interest; the role of the dietitian
Mortensen 1987	Not outcome of interest; short‐chain fatty acids (SCFA) in faeces
Nash 1986	Cross‐over study; no first phase data available
Nedogoda 2000	No placebo; comparing pinaverium bromide and otilonium bromide
Noel 1989	Not an RCT
Olden 2005	Not an RCT; a review
Pardell 1982	No placebo; comparing clebopride and hyoscine N‐butylbromide
Parisi 2002	No placebo; comparing guargum and wheat bran
Parisi 2005	No placebo group; comparing different doses of guar gum
Passaretti 1985	Not an RCT
Passaretti 1989b	Not outcome of interest; sigmoid‐rectal motility
Pearson 2000	Not an RCT
Piai 1987a	Inappropriate patients; mixture of IBS and functional constipation
Piai 1987b	Inappropriate patients; IBS in remission
Pittler 1998	Not an RCT; a meta‐analysis
Prior 1986a	Only abstract; full text not available
Prior 1986b	Duplicate publication; abstract publication of Prior 1987
Prout 1983	No placebo; comparing two doses of mebeverine
Quilici 1998	Not an RCT
Quilici 2003	Not an RCT
Rasmussen 1982	Inappropriate intervention; diet
Rees 1979	Cross‐over study; no first phase data available
Rhodes 1978	Inaprporiate intervention; sedative‐anticholinergic drug combinations
Rhodes 1980	No extractable results
Ritchie 1980	No placebo; comparing psychotropic drug, smooth‐muscle relaxant, and bulking agent
Sagduyu 2002	Not an RCT; a letter
Sato 2006	Not an RCT; a review
Schaffstein 1990	No placebo; comparing trimebutine and mebeverine
Schutz 1992	Not an RCT
Secco 1983	Not an RCT
Sharma 1987	Not an RCT
Shaughnessy 2000	Not an RCT
Shrivastava 1984	Not outcome of interest
Singh 2007	Not an RCT
Slawson 2002	Not an RCT
Snook 1994	Cross‐over study; no first phase data available
Soifer 1987	Not an RCT
Soifer 1992	Not outcome of interest; colon motility
Soriano 1992	Not an RCT
Stiefelhagen 2008	Not an RCT
Swiatczak 1998	Not an RCT; comparing before and after treatment with bran
Talley 2003	Not an RCT
Talley 2004	Not an RCT
Talley 2008b	Not an RCT; a review
Tan 2007	Not an RCT; a review
Tanum 1996	Inappropriate patients; mixture of IBS and NUD patients
Tanum 2000	Not outcome of interest; assessment of personality traits
Tarpila 2004	No placebo; comparing flaxseed and psyllium
Tarquini 1984	No placebo; comparing octilonium bromide and octilonium bromide with a benzodiazepine
Tasman‐Jones 1973	Cross‐over study; no first phase data available
Tinozzi 1984	No placebo; comparing tiropramide hydrochloride and octylonium bromide
Tomas‐Ridocci 1992	Not the appropriate patients; patients with chronic constipation with or without IBS
Toussaint 1981	No placebo; comparing trimebutine and mebeverine
Tripathi 1983	Duplicate publication with Shrivastava 1984
Tsuneoka 1987	No placebo; comparing trimebutine maleate and mepenzolate bromide
Tudor 1986	No placebo; comparing alverine citrate and mebeverine hydrochloride
van Kerkhoven 2007	Not an RCT; a letter
Van Outryve 1995	No placebo; comparing mebeverine and mebeverine sustained release
Van Steensel 1990	Not an RCT
Villagrasa 1991	No placebo; comparing fibre‐rich diet and otilonium bromide
Wald 1990	Not an RCT
Wald 2002	Not an RCT; a review
Wang 2003	No placebo; comparing fluoxetine, paroxetine and doxepin
Wittmann 1999	No RCT; healthy patients compared with IBS patients
Woolner 2000	Not an RCT; preliminary before‐after study of low‐fibre diet
Yuan 2003	Not an RCT
Yuan 2005	No placebo; comparing trimebutine maleat and pinaveriumbromide
Zhang 2002	No placebo; comparing otilonium bromide, collodal bismuth tartrate and compound diphenoxylate
Zhou 2002	No placebo; comparing paroxetine and pinaverium bromide versus paroxetine versus pinaverium bromide
Zuckerman 2006	Not an RCT; therapeutic recommendations