Hypnotherapy may be worth trying for people with severe irritable bowel syndrome if conventional drug treatments fail,
says Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB).
Around one in five people in the UK have functional gastrointestinal disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome and
functional dyspepsia. Characteristic features of these conditions include persistent or recurrent abdominal pain or
discomfort, with no identifiable physical or biochemical explanation for such symptoms. Drug treatment is often ineffective.
Some clinical trials have suggested that so-called gut-directed hypnotherapy may help to reduce the symptoms of functional
gastrointestinal disorders. However, several of these studies have had important limitations. These have included, for
example, the small sizes of the trials and the questionable nature of some of the things against which hypnotherapy has been
tested.
Of concern, there is no restriction on who can practise hypnotherapy. Also, it may be difficult to find a suitably trained
hypnotherapist who offers gut-directed hypnotherapy on the NHS.
Dr Ike Iheanacho, editor, DTB:
"There is limited evidence suggesting that for patients with severe symptoms of functional gastrointestinal disorders,
hypnotherapy may be worth trying if drug treatment has not helped. But it's essential that any such treatment is provided
only by an appropriately trained hypnotherapist, and such a service may not be easily available on the NHS.
"The lack of effective regulation of hypnotherapists is another reason for caution in advocating gut-directed hypnotherapy
for the treatment of patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders."
Notes
1 To speak to one of the DTB team, or to receive a full copy of Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin please call Samantha Flack on
020 7770 7562.
2 Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB), published monthly, gives an authoritative independent assessment of treatment and
drugs. It is published by Which?. Annual subscription is £49, retired doctors and pharmacists, and students, £24.50. All
orders should be sent to Dept DTB, Which?, Castlemead, Gascoyne Way, Hertford X, SG14 1LH.
Which?, 2 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 4DF
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