THERAPEUTICS
Placebo acupuncture improved symptoms and quality of life in irritable bowel syndrome
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
T J Kaptchuk
Dr T J Kaptchuk, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; ted_kaptchuk@hms.harvard.edu
STUDY DESIGN
randomised controlled trial (RCT).
concealed.*
blinded (patients, outcome assessors, {data collectors, and data analysts}
).*
STUDY QUESTION
academic medical centre {in Boston, MA, USA}.
262 patients (mean age 39 y, 76% women) who had irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and a Symptom Severity Scale score 
150. Exclusion criteria included loss of >10% of body weight, fever, blood in stool, family history of colon cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, and previous acupuncture.
augmented placebo (n = 87), limited placebo (n = 88), or wait list (n = 87). Placebo treatments were sham acupuncture (6–8 dummy needles twice/wk). The augmented-placebo group had a defined positive patient–doctor relationship (25 min of warmth, active listening, thoughtful silence, communication of confidence, and positive expectation) whereas the limited-placebo group had minimal interaction with the doctor (<5 min).
included Global Improvement Scale (GIS), symptom relief, and
Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
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