Irritable Bowel Syndrome Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Irritable Bowel Syndrome, including details on treatment, symptoms, digestion, nutrition, diet, drugs.

Double-blind placebo-controlled trial of amitriptyline for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome in adolescents.

Bahar RJ, Collins BS, Steinmetz B, Ament ME

Department of Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, UCLA Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 91316, USA. bahar@bizla.rr.com

OBJECTIVES: To determine the efficacy of amitriptyline (AMI) in treating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in adolescents. STUDY DESIGN: Adolescents 12 to 18 years with newly diagnosed IBS were surveyed with a symptom checklist, pain rating scale, visual analog scale, and IBS quality of life (QOL) questionnaire. Subjects were randomized in a double-blinded fashion to receive AMI or placebo, and again completed surveys at 2, 6, 10, and 13 weeks. RESULTS: Thirty-three patients (24 female) were enrolled. Patients receiving AMI were more likely to experience improvement from baseline in overall QOL at 6, 10, and 13 weeks (P = .019, .004, and .013). Patients receiving AMI were also more likely to experience a reduction in IBS-associated diarrhea at 6 and 10 weeks (P = .029 for both), a reduction in periumbilical pain at 10 weeks (P = .018), and a reduction in right lower quadrant pain at 6, 10, and 13 weeks (P = .014, .039, and .004). CONCLUSION: AMI significantly improves overall QOL in adolescents with IBS and should be a therapeutic option for adolescents with this disorder.

Published 15 April 2008 in J Pediatr, 152(5): 685-9.
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