A meta-analysis of the therapeutic effects of amitriptyline for treating irritable bowel syndrome.

Author(s): Chao GQ(1), Zhang S.

Affiliation(s): Author information: (1)Department of Family Medicine, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University, China.

Publication date & source: 2013, Intern Med. , 52(4):419-24

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of amitriptyline as a therapeutic option for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) through a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. METHODS: For the years from 1966 until May 2012, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for double-blind, placebo-controlled trials investigating the efficacy of amitriptyline in the management of IBS. RESULTS: Four randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials met our criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled relative risk for clinical improvement with amitriptyline therapy was 4.18 (95% CI: 2.00 to 8.77, p=0.0001). CONCLUSION: It was thus concluded that amitriptyline exhibits a clinically and statistically significant control of IBS symptoms.