The efficacy of fluvoxamine on irritable bowel syndrome severity and patient's quality of life

Considering the high frequency of anxiety and depressive symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are recommended by some gastroenterologists for treatment. In this study, the efficacy of fluvoxamine on severity of symptoms and quality of life in IBS patients was assessed.

Methods and Materials: 

A randomized, double blind, placebo controlled clinical trial was performed on 20-50 year old patients diagnosed with IBS based on the Rome III criteria. Patients were consecutively selected and randomly assigned to fluvoxamine (n = 30) or placebo (n = 30) groups. Efficacy of medication was measured by administering severity scale and quality of life questionnaire on day 0 (baseline), day 28 and day 90 (3rd month). All data was finally analyzed by SPSS version 13 using repeated measures ANOVA and t-test.

Mean score of clinical symptoms severity in fluvoxamine group before intervention was 206.8. However, the scores decreased to 165.2 and 137.5 one month and 3 months after intervention, respectively. Although severity of symptoms was decreased in both groups, the difference was only significant in the fluvoxamine group (P < 0.05). Mean of quality of life scores in the fluvoxamine group was 55.3, 63.0 and 68.1 before intervention, one month and three months after intervention, respectively. However, this increase was not statically significant (P > 0.05).

Based on the findings of the present study, administration of fluvoxamine patients with IBS can lead to a decrease in the severity of symptoms.