Bao, ChunhuiWu, LuyiShi, YinShi, ZhengJin, XiaomingShen , JiachengLi , JingHu , ZhihaiChen, JianhuaZeng , XiaoqingZhang, WeiMa , ZheWeng , ZhijunLi , JinmeiLiu , HuirongWu , Huangan2024-06-212024-06-212022-02Bao, C., Wu, L., Shi, Y., Shi, Z., Jin, X., Shen, J., Li, J., Hu, Z., Chen, J., Zeng, X., Zhang, W., Ma, Z., Weng, Z., Li, J., Liu, H., & Wu, H. (2022). Long-term effect of moxibustion on irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea: A randomized clinical trial. Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology, 15, 17562848221075131. https://doi.org/10.1177/17562848221075131https://hdl.handle.net/1805/41731Background: Moxibustion is increasingly used for treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This study investigated the long-term effects of moxibustion for IBS with diarrhea (IBS-D). Methods: Patients with IBS-D were assigned to receive moxibustion or sham moxibustion (52 each, 3× per week, 6 weeks) and were followed up to 24 weeks. The acupoints were bilateral ST25 and ST36, body surface temperatures at acupoints were 43°C ± 1°C and 37°C ± 1°C for the moxibustion and sham groups, respectively. Primary outcome was changes in IBS Adequate Relief (IBS-AR) from baseline to 6 weeks. Secondary outcomes included the following: IBS symptom severity scale (IBS-SSS), Bristol stool form scale (BSS), IBS quality of life (IBS-QOL), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results: Based on an intention-to-treat analysis, the rate of IBS-AR in the moxibustion group was significantly higher than the sham group at 6 weeks (76.9% versus 42.3%; p < 0.001); the mean decrease of total IBS-BSS score in the moxibustion group was lower than that of the sham group (−116.9 versus −61.5; p < 0.001), both of which maintained throughout the follow-up period. Five specific domains of the IBS-SSS were lower in the moxibustion group than the sham, throughout (p < 0.001). At week 6, the rate of reduction >50 points in IBS-SSS of the treatment group was significantly higher than that of the sham (p < 0.001), which persisted throughout the follow-up period. Similar long-lasting improvements were observed in BSS, stool frequency, and stool urgency (p < 0.001). Improvements of IBS-QOL and HADS were comparable between the groups. Conclusions: Moxibustion treatment benefits the long-term relief of symptoms in IBS-D patients. Trial registration: Clinical trials.gov (NCT02421627). Registered on 20 April 2015.en-USacupuncturealternative therapyirritable bowel syndromerandomized controlled trialArticle