Two-year follow-up of behavioral treatment of irritable bowel syndrome

Fourteen patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and who had completed a multicomponent treatment involving thermal biofeedback, progressive muscle relaxation, IBS education, and cognitive therapy were evaluated 2 years posttreatment. Eight of the 14 patients (57%) who completed symptom monitoring diaries met our criteria for clinical improvement, i.e., achieving at least 50% reduction in primary symptom scores. When follow-up symptom means were compared with pretreatment means, significant (one-tailed) reductions were obtained on abdominal pain/tenderness, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and flatulence; the means on all measures at two-year follow-up were better than those obtained prior to treatment.