Hypnotherapy for irritable bowel syndrome: an audit of one thousand adult patients

Summary Background Gut‐focused hypnotherapy improves the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) with benefits being sustained for many years. Despite this, the technique has not been widely adopted by healthcare systems, possibly due to relatively small numbers in published studies and uncertainty about how it should be provided. Aim To review the effect of hypnotherapy in a large cohort of refractory IBS patients. Methods One thousand IBS patients fulfilling Rome II criteria, mean age 51.6 years (range 17–91 years), 80% female, receiving 12 sessions of hypnotherapy over 3 months, were studied. The primary outcome was a 50 point reduction in the IBS Symptom Severity Score. The fall in scores for Noncolonic Symptoms, Quality of Life and Anxiety or Depression, were secondary outcomes. The Federal Drug Administration's recommended outcome of a 30% or more reduction in abdominal pain was also recorded. Results Overall, 76% met the primary outcome which was higher in females (females: 80%, males: 62%, P