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BioPsychoSocial Medicine
Published in: BioPsychoSocial Medicine 1/2021

01-12-2021 | Irritable Bowel Syndrome | Research

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to assess efficacy of mirtazapine for the treatment of diarrhea predominant irritable bowel syndrome

Authors: Alireza Khalilian, Davoud Ahmadimoghaddam, Shiva Saki, Younes Mohammadi, Maryam Mehrpooya

Published in: BioPsychoSocial Medicine | Issue 1/2021

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Abstract

Background

Ample evidence indicates the efficacy of serotonin type 3 (5-HT3) receptor antagonists in the treatment of patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D). Mirtazapine is an atypical antidepressant with a well-known 5-HT3 receptor antagonist property. This study, therefore, was undertaken to investigate whether compared to placebo, mirtazapine would be efficacious and safe in the treatment of patients with IBS-D.

Methods

From November 2019 until July 2020, 67 patients meeting Rome IV criteria for IBS-D were randomized in a double-blind fashion into either the mirtazapine treatment group (n = 34) or the placebo treatment group (n = 33). Patients started with mirtazapine 15 mg/day at bedtime for one-week; after which the dose was increased to 30 mg/day for an additional 7-week. Outcomes included changes in the total IBS symptom severity score (IBS-SSS), Hospital anxiety and depression scale score (HADS), and IBS Quality of Life. Additionally, changes in the diary-based symptoms scores including pain, urgency of defecation, bloating, stool frequency, and stool consistency based on the 7-point Bristol Stool Form Scale (BSFS), and a number of days per week with pain, urgency, diarrhea, or bloating, once during the 1-week run-in period, and once during the last week of treatment were recorded.

Results

All analyses were performed on an Intention-to-Treat (ITT) analysis data set. The results showed compared to placebo, mirtazapine is more efficacious in decreasing the severity of IBS symptoms (P-value = 0.002). Further, at the end of the treatment period, all diary-derived symptoms except bloating showed significantly more improvement in the mirtazapine-treated subjects compared to the placebo-treated subjects. While was well-tolerated, mirtazapine also significantly improved the patients’ quality of life (P-value = 0.04) and anxiety symptoms (P-value = 0.005).

Conclusions

Overall, mirtazapine seems to have a potential benefit in the treatment of patients with IBS-D, particularly those with concomitant psychological symptoms. However, further studies are warranted to determine whether these findings are replicated.

Trial registration

Trial registration: Registration number at Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials: IRCT201202150090​14N311. Registration date: 2019-10-21.
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Metadata
Title
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to assess efficacy of mirtazapine for the treatment of diarrhea predominant irritable bowel syndrome
Authors
Alireza Khalilian
Davoud Ahmadimoghaddam
Shiva Saki
Younes Mohammadi
Maryam Mehrpooya
Publication date
01-12-2021
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BioPsychoSocial Medicine / Issue 1/2021
Electronic ISSN: 1751-0759
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13030-021-00205-2

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