Christine Dalton

International survey of patients with IBS: symptom features and their severity, health status, treatments, and risk taking to achieve clinical benefit.

Background Although clinicians generally make treatment decisions in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) related to the type of symptoms, other factors such as the perceived severity and the risks patients are willing to tolerate for effective treatment are also important to consider. These factors are not fully understood. Objective To describe among patients with IBS their symptoms and severity, quality of life and health status, medications taken, and the risk that they would take to continue medications for optimal relief. Methods Adult patients diagnosed with IBS who accessed the websites of the International Foundation for Functional GI Disorders or the University of North Carolina Center for Functional GI Disorders filled out questionnaires to address the study aims. Results The 1966 respondents (83% female, 91% white, 78% US/Canada) reported impaired health status: restricting on average 73 days of activity in a year, having poor health-related quality of life particularly with dietary restrictions, mood disturbance, and interference with daily activity, and 35% reported their symptoms as severe defined primarily as pain, bowel difficulties, bloating, and eating/dietary restrictions). These symptoms were reported in some combination by over 90%, and 35.1% endorsed all 4 items. To receive a treatment that would make them symptom free, patients would give up 25% of their remaining life (average 15 y) and 14% would risk a 1/1000 chance of death. Most of the medications being taken were for pain relief and 18% were taking narcotics. Complementary and alternative treatments were used by 37%. Conclusions Patients accessing IBS informational websites report moderate-to-severe impairments in health status, and would take considerable risk to obtain symptom benefit. There is an unmet need to find effective treatments for patients with IBS and regulatory agencies might consider raising risk-benefit ratios when approving new medications for IBS.

Diagnosis, characterization, and 3-month outcome after detoxification of 39 patients with narcotic bowel syndrome.

OBFECTIVES:Narcotic bowel syndrome (NBS) is characterized by a paradoxical increase in abdominal pain associated with continued or escalating dosages of narcotics. This study evaluated the clinical and psychosocial features of patients with NBS and the response to detoxification treatment.METHODS:For 2 years, 39 patients seen by the GI consult service at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) with presumed NBS were placed on a detoxification program. Clinical, psychosocial, health status, and outcome data were obtained before and after detoxification. Our aims were to: (i) clinically characterize patients with presumed NBS, (ii) assess the clinical response and adverse effects to detoxification, (iii) identify clinical and psychosocial predictors of treatment response, and (iv) determine the clinical outcome at 3 months after detoxification and the time frame for patients who revert back to narcotics.RESULTS:Of the 39 patients detoxified, 89.7% met predefined criteria. Patients were mostly well educated (14.5±2.3 years of school), female (92.3%), and with a variety of diagnoses (21% irritable bowel syndrome IBS/functional, 37% inflammatory bowel disease and other structural, 29% fibromyalgia and other functional somatic, or orthopedic, and 13% postoperative or other). They reported high health-care use (15.3±10.1 MD visits/6 months; 6.5±6.1 hospitalizations/2 years, 6.4±2.0 surgeries/lifetime), and 82.1% were jobless. Despite high dosages of narcotics (total intravenous (IV) morphine equivalent 75.3±78.0 mg/day), pain scores were rated severe (52.9±28.8 visual analog scale (VAS); 257.1±139.6 functional bowel disorder severity index (FBDSI); 17.2±10.2 (McGill Pain and greater than labor or postoperative pain). Multiple symptoms were reported (n=17.8±9.2) and rated as moderate to severe. Psychosocial scores showed high catastrophizing (19.9±8.6); poor daily function (Short Form-36 (SF-36) physical 28.3±7.7, mental 34.3±11.0; worse than tetraplegia); 28.2% were clinically depressed and 33.3% anxious (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)). Detoxification was successfully completed by 89.7%; after detoxification, abdominal pain was reduced by 35% (P<0.03) and nonabdominal pain by 42% (P<0.01) on VAS, and catastrophizing significantly improved (P<0.01). Responder status was met in 56.4% with 48.7% achieving a ≥30% reduction in pain. By 3 months after detoxification, 45.8% had returned to using narcotics. For those who remained off narcotics at 3 months, the VAS abdominal pain score was 75% lower than pretreatment when compared with those who went back on narcotics (24% lower). Successful detoxification and a good clinical response was associated with low abuse potential (Current Opioid Misuse Measure (COMM) score <9).CONCLUSIONS:Despite severe pain, poor coping, and poor health status, almost all patients with NBS undergoing detoxification were able to stop using narcotics and have significant improvement in pain and coping. However, almost ½ reverted to narcotic use at 3 months. Those who stayed off narcotics showed greater improvement in pain scores. This study provides a rationale for treating patients with NBS by detoxification in order to improve their clinical status. Further work is needed to understand the reasons for the high recidivism rate.

Cognitive Factors Affect Treatment Response to Medical and Psychological Treatments in Functional Bowel Disorders

OBJECTIVES:For clinical trials in functional bowel disorders (FBD), the definition of a responder, one who meets the predefined criteria for a clinical response, is needed. Factors that determine clinical response aside from treatment itself are unknown. The aim of this study was to determine what baseline and post-treatment factors affect treatment response.METHODS:Females (n=397) with FBD entering a 12-week, four-arm, randomized NIH treatment trial (desipramine (DES), CBT, pill placebo, and education) were studied at baseline and after treatment. Demographic, clinical, psychosocial, and physiological variables were considered in the analysis. A responder was defined as a patient obtaining a score >3.5 on an averaged eight-item, five-point satisfaction-with-treatment questionnaire. Baseline and post-treatment logistic regressions were performed for each treatment condition to predict the responder outcome variable.RESULTS:Similar cognitive features predisposed participants to treatment response across the treatment conditions: sense of control over the condition, positive relationship with therapist or study coordinator, confidence in treatment, improvement in maladaptive cognitions, and quality of life during treatment. Demographic and clinical variables studied were not predictive. Some treatment-specific effects predicting responder status were noted, including a reduction in stool frequency with DES treatment and lack of abuse history in the placebo group.CONCLUSIONS:For medication, psychological, and placebo treatment in FBD, satisfaction with treatment depends on cognitive factors of confidence in treatments, perceived control over illness and symptoms, and reduction in negative cognitions related to symptom experience. Addressing these issues among patients with FBD may enhance treatment response to a variety of treatments.

Further Characterization of Painful Constipation (PC) : Clinical Features Over One Year and Comparison With IBS

Background There has been some question about the classification of painful constipation (PC) and its relationship to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and in particular IBS with constipation (IBS-C). We sought to: (1) compare PC with IBS and its subtypes (IBS-C, IBS-D, and IBS-A) in terms of pain scores, stool habit and clinical features, and to determine which factors predict PC over IBS, (2) determine the variation in pain and stool habit for PC relative to IBS over time, and (3) compare whether there are clinical differences between those with high pain constipation (HPC) and low pain constipation (LPC) over time. Methods Among 231 women in an National Institutes of Health trial, Rome II moderate to severe PC (n=41), IBS-A (n=55), IBS-C (n=80), and IBS-D (n=55) received diary cards on stool frequency, consistency, and pain (visual analog scale) daily for 14 days before and after 12-week treatment and at 3-month intervals for 1 year. PC was characterized into HPC (high pain) and LPC (low pain) groups based on visual analog scale pain scores (high pain ≥50 and low pain <50) at baseline. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and comparisons performed by χ2 for categorical and t tests for continuous variables. Regressions and repeated measures tested between group and within-group associations, respectively. Results (a) PC is different from IBS with: higher pain scores (P=0.002), lower education (P=0.02), greater healthcare use and surgeries (P=0.05 to 0.003), and poorer daily function (Sickness Impact Profile overall P=0.004), (b) PC is similar to IBS-C and IBS-A but different from IBS-D for stool frequency and consistency (P<0.0001), bloating (P=0.02), laxative/antidiarrheal use (P=0.04 and 0.02), and lower education (P=0.02). (c) Over 1 year, PC: maintained higher pain scores than IBS, had stool frequencies less than IBS-D and between IBS-C and IBS-A, had stool consistency less than IBS-D and similar to IBS-A, (d) for HPC and LPC there was no difference in constipation, and HPC switched to LPC over time, while LPC pain scores stayed low. Limitations include the absence of a painless constipation group, and that studying moderate to severe symptoms, which may not represent all with PC or IBS. Conclusions PC is clinically similar in stool pattern and bloating to IBS-C and IBS-A, but with greater pain, healthcare utilization, and poorer daily function. The findings also suggest that PC defines a population where there is greater pain, and poorer health status and daily function, which may be driven more by visceral and/or central pain dysregulation more than the constipation.

Impact of eating restriction on gastrointestinal motility in adolescents with IBS.

Objective: Gastrointestinal disturbances as a result of changes in eating patterns have been described in eating disorders. Many patients who experience irritable bowel syndrome report changes in eating patterns as a way to cope with their symptoms. Little is known about the consequences of these practices. The aim of this study was to explore whether repeated eating restriction (defined as not eating ≥4 hours while hungry) is associated with motility disturbances. Methods: Of 17 patients with irritable bowel syndrome, subjects were divided into those who habitually restrict their eating (n = 8) and those without eating restriction (n = 9) (age range 15–21, mean 19.2; 64.7% girls). Whole-gut transit time was measured by radiopaque markers, gastric sensitivity was measured by water load test (drinking max of 800 mL of water in 5 minutes or until full), and gastric dysrhythmias by an electrogastrogram. Results: Restrictors drank less water (mean 464.4 mL) than nonrestrictors (mean 613 mL; P = 0.02). No difference was found in gastric dysrhythmias (62.5% vs 77.8%; P = 0.5). Whole-gut transit tended to be slower in the restrictors (mean 51.0 hours) than in nonrestrictors (mean 37.5 hours), but this was not significant. Conclusions: Eating restriction appears to be associated with increased gastric sensation. More data are needed from larger studies to determine whether eating behaviors are associated with other motility disturbances.