Psyllium therapy in the irritable bowel syndrome. A double-blind trial.

A randomized, double-blind trial of a psyllium preparation was initiated in 77 patients with painful irritable bowel syndrome. Sixty-patients finished and submitted symptom data for 8 weeks while taking placebo (n = 34) or psyllium (n = 26). Increase in normal stools and decrease in pain severity (p less than 0.

Nurse-supervised education of patients with symptomatic gastroesophageal reflux.

Patient educational programs supervised by non-physicians are becoming popular, but comparison of their effect on outcome with that of physician teaching is limited. We developed a nurse-supervised class for patients with symptomatic gastroesophageal reflux (GER). Primary physicians referred patients to the program.