The use of complementary and alternative therapies and of psychotherapy by Romanian patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

Unlabelled: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is an invalidating condition, lacking a perfect therapy. Therefore, many patients use also complementary and alternative therapies (CAT) or psychotherapy (PT). There are no data on the use of CAT and PT in IBS in our area. We looked for this until uncovered aspect of IBS management in Romania.

Material And Methods: 250 consecutive patients with IBS (142 F/108M, aged 49 +/- 12 years) referred to a tertiary gastroenterological center were questioned about the use of CAT and PT using a structured specially developed questionnaire. All of the patients accepted to answer the questionnaire after careful instruction.

Results: 162 out of 250 pts (64%) admitted to have used one or more CAT, usually together with pharmacological prescriptions. Among CAT users, 32 patients (20%) used only CAT and not allopathic drugs. CAT used were: homeopathy 13%, herbal therapy 72%, acupuncture 3%, bioenergetic resonance 11%, others 13%. Probiotics were used by 30%. Users were mainly females of lower educational levels. Psychotherapy was used by 30 pts (12%). 25 (10%) used CBT, 15 (6%) used relaxation therapy.

Conclusion: The majority of IBS pts. in our area use CAT usually in association with allopathic therapy. The most frequently used are herbal prescriptions followed by probiotics. PT less frequently used in our IBS patients.