Effect of Brain-gut Behavioral Treatments on Abdominal Pain in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Some brain-gut behavioral treatments (BGBTs) are beneficial for global symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). US management guidelines suggest their use in patients with persistent abdominal pain but their specific effect on this symptom has not been assessed systematically. METHODS: We searched the literature through 16th December 2023 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing efficacy of BGBTs for adults with IBS, compared with each other, or a control intervention. Trials provided an assessment of abdominal pain resolution or improvement at treatment completion. We extracted data as intention-to-treat analyses, assuming dropouts to be treatment failures and reporting pooled relative risks (RRs) of abdominal pain not improving with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), ranking therapies according to P-score. RESULTS: We identified 42 eligible RCTs, containing 5220 participants. After treatment completion, the BGBTs with the largest numbers of trials, and patients recruited, demonstrating efficacy for abdominal pain, specifically, included self-guided/minimal contact cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) (RR = 0.71; 95% CI 0.54-0.95, P-score 0.58), face-to-face multicomponent behavioral therapy (RR = 0.72; 95% CI 0.54-0.97, P score 0.56), and face-to-face gut-directed hypnotherapy (RR = 0.77; 95% CI 0.61-0.96, P-score 0.49). Among trials recruiting only patients with refractory global IBS symptoms, group CBT was more efficacious than routine care for abdominal pain, but no other significant differences were detected. No trials were low risk of bias across all domains and there was evidence of funnel plot asymmetry. CONCLUSIONS: Several BGBTs, including self-guided/minimal contact CBT, face-to-face multicomponent behavioral therapy, and face-to-face gut-directed hypnotherapy may be efficacious for abdominal pain in IBS, although none were superior to another.

Factors That Predict Magnitude, Timing, and Persistence of Placebo-Like Response in Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Placebo response impedes the development of novel irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) therapies and the interpretability of randomized clinical trials. This study sought to characterize the magnitude, timing, and durability of IBS symptom relief in patients undergoing a non-drug placebo-like control. METHODS: One hundred forty-five Rome III-diagnosed patients (80% F, M age = 42 years) were assigned to education/nondirective support delivered over a 10-week acute phase. Treatment response was based on the IBS version of the Clinical Global Improvement Scale completed 2 weeks after treatment ended. Candidate predictors were assessed at baseline (eg, emotion regulation, pain catastrophizing, distress, neuroticism, stress, somatization, gastrointestinal-specific anxiety) or clinically relevant points during treatment (patient-provider relationship, treatment expectancy/credibility). RESULTS: Midtreatment response was associated with lower levels of stress and somatization at baseline and greater patient-provider agreement on treatment tasks (P < .001). Treatment response was associated with baseline gastroenterologist-rated IBS severity, anxiety, ability to reappraise emotions to reduce their impact [cognitive reappraisal], and agreement that provider and patient shared goals from provider perspective (P < .001). The day-to-day ability to reappraise emotions at baseline distinguished rapid from delayed placebo responders (P = .011). CONCLUSION: Patient beliefs (eg, perceived stress, cognitive reappraisal) impacted the magnitude, timing, and persistence of placebo response measured at midway point of acute phase and 2 weeks after treatment discontinuation. Baseline beliefs that patients could alter the impact of stressful events by rethinking their unpleasantness distinguished rapid vs delayed placebo responders. Collaborative agreement between doctor and patient around shared tasks/goals from the clinician perspective predicted placebo response.

Somatization Mediates the Relationship Between Childhood Trauma and Pain Ratings in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

GOALS: To identify potential mechanisms by which childhood trauma may lead to the adult development of abdominal symptoms in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). BACKGROUND: Patients with IBS frequently report a history of childhood trauma. The pathophysiology by which abdominal pain arises in patients with IBS is multidimensional, consisting of both peripheral factors, such as altered motility, inflammation, and bacterial overgrowth, as well as central factors, such as psychological distress and neuro-hormonal dysregulation. STUDY: Adult psychological factors (anxiety, depression, and somatization) were examined to determine if they mediate the relationship between retrospective reports of childhood trauma and current adult IBS abdominal symptoms in a study of 436 patients (M age=41.6, 79% F) meeting Rome III diagnosis criteria. Childhood trauma was measured using retrospective questions assessing physical and sexual abuse. Psychological factors in adulthood were measured with the subscales of the Brief Symptom Inventory-18. Outcome variables included adult IBS symptoms of abdominal pain, bloating, and satisfaction with bowel habits from the IBS Symptoms Severity Scale. RESULTS: Results indicated that somatization mediated the relationship between childhood abuse and abdominal pain and bloating but not bowel satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides insight into the multifactorial nature of IBS-associated abdominal pain in patients with a history of childhood trauma, elucidating the need for a trauma-informed treatment approach for patients with histories of abuse.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pelvic Pain: What Is It and Does It Work?

PURPOSE: Urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome (UCPPS), which encompasses interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome in women and men and chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome in men, is a common, often disabling urological disorder that is neither well understood nor satisfactorily treated with medical treatments. The past 25 years have seen the development and validation of a number of behavioral pain treatments, of which cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is arguably the most effective. CBT combines strategies of behavior therapy, which teaches patients more effective ways of behaving, and cognitive therapy, which focuses on correcting faulty thinking patterns. As a skills-based treatment, CBT emphasizes "unlearning" maladaptive behaviors and thoughts, and replacing them with more adaptive ones that support symptom self-management. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This review describes the rationale, technical procedures, and empirical basis of CBT. RESULTS: While evidence supports CBT for treatment-refractory chronic pain disorders, there is limited understanding of why or how CBT might work, for whom it is most beneficial, or the specific UCPPS symptoms (eg, pain, urinary symptoms) it effectively targets. This is the focus of EPPIC (Easing Pelvic Pain Interventions Clinical Research Program), a landmark NIH trial examining the efficacy of low-intensity, home-based CBT for UCPPS relative to a nonspecific comparator featuring self-care recommendations of AUA guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: Systematic efforts to increase both the efficiency of CBT and the way it is delivered (eg, home-based treatments) are critical to scaling up CBT, optimizing its therapeutic potential, and reducing the public health burden of UCPPS.

Characterizing the Impact of Disorders of the Gut-Brain Interaction on Mental and Physical Health Functioning Among Spanish-Speaking Latino Adults Living in the United States.

INTRODUCTION: Latino individuals are underrepresented in the disorders of the gut-brain interaction (DGBI) literature, and no work has explored how disorders of the gut-brain interaction affect health and well-being in this group. METHODS: This study sought to explore how disorders of the gut-brain interaction affect health factors in a sample of Latino individuals (N = 292; 80.80% female; M age = 37.65 years, SD = 11.98) with (n = 60) and without (n = 232) a disorder of the gut-brain interaction based on current Rome Foundation diagnostic criteria (Rome IV). RESULTS: DGBI was associated with increased pain intensity, pain disability, cardiovascular risk, depressive symptoms, and anxiety/panic symptoms and lower physical health-related quality of life and mental health-related quality of life controlling for age, sex, and nativity. DISCUSSION: Better understanding mental health and treatment-seeking behaviors among Latino individuals may help clinical gastroenterologists engage their Latino patients to a greater extent and thus provide higher quality of care.

Pain Catastrophizing and Clinical Outcomes Among Patients Receiving a Novel Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: An Experimental Therapeutics Approach.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common gastrointestinal (GI) condition treated by GI and primary care physicians. Although IBS symptoms (abdominal pain, bowel problems) are generally refractory to medical therapies, consistent research has shown that they improve following cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Notwithstanding empirical support for CBT, there is less research explicating the reasons for why or how it works. Like other pain disorders, the focus on change mechanisms for behavioral pain treatments has focused on pain-specific cognitive-affective processes that modulate pain experience, few of which are more important than pain catastrophizing (PC). The fact that PC changes are seen across treatments of differing theoretical and technical orientation, including CBT, yoga, and physical therapy, suggests that it may be a nonspecific (vs. theory-based) change mechanism akin to therapeutic alliance and treatment expectancy. Therefore, the current study examined change in PC as a concurrent mediator of IBS symptoms severity, global GI symptom improvement, and quality of life among 436 Rome III-diagnosed IBS patients enrolled in a clinical trial undergoing two dosages of CBT versus a nonspecific comparator emphasizing education and support. Results from structural equation modeling parallel process mediation analyses suggest that reduction in PC during treatment are significantly associated with improvement in IBS clinical outcomes through 3-month follow-up. Results from the current study provide evidence that PC may be an important, albeit nonspecific change mechanism, during CBT for IBS. Overall, reducing the emotional unpleasantness of pain through cognitive processes is associated with improved outcomes for IBS.

Multi-omics profiles of the intestinal microbiome in irritable bowel syndrome and its bowel habit subtypes.

BACKGROUND: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common gastrointestinal disorder that is thought to involve alterations in the gut microbiome, but robust microbial signatures have been challenging to identify. As prior studies have primarily focused on composition, we hypothesized that multi-omics assessment of microbial function incorporating both metatranscriptomics and metabolomics would further delineate microbial profiles of IBS and its subtypes. METHODS: Fecal samples were collected from a racially/ethnically diverse cohort of 495 subjects, including 318 IBS patients and 177 healthy controls, for analysis by 16S rRNA gene sequencing (n = 486), metatranscriptomics (n = 327), and untargeted metabolomics (n = 368). Differentially abundant microbes, predicted genes, transcripts, and metabolites in IBS were identified by multivariate models incorporating age, sex, race/ethnicity, BMI, diet, and HAD-Anxiety. Inter-omic functional relationships were assessed by transcript/gene ratios and microbial metabolic modeling. Differential features were used to construct random forests classifiers. RESULTS: IBS was associated with global alterations in microbiome composition by 16S rRNA sequencing and metatranscriptomics, and in microbiome function by predicted metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and metabolomics. After adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, BMI, diet, and anxiety, IBS was associated with differential abundance of bacterial taxa such as Bacteroides dorei; metabolites including increased tyramine and decreased gentisate and hydrocinnamate; and transcripts related to fructooligosaccharide and polyol utilization. IBS further showed transcriptional upregulation of enzymes involved in fructose and glucan metabolism as well as the succinate pathway of carbohydrate fermentation. A multi-omics classifier for IBS had significantly higher accuracy (AUC 0.82) than classifiers using individual datasets. Diarrhea-predominant IBS (IBS-D) demonstrated shifts in the metatranscriptome and metabolome including increased bile acids, polyamines, succinate pathway intermediates (malate, fumarate), and transcripts involved in fructose, mannose, and polyol metabolism compared to constipation-predominant IBS (IBS-C). A classifier incorporating metabolites and gene-normalized transcripts differentiated IBS-D from IBS-C with high accuracy (AUC 0.86). CONCLUSIONS: IBS is characterized by a multi-omics microbial signature indicating increased capacity to utilize fermentable carbohydrates-consistent with the clinical benefit of diets restricting this energy source-that also includes multiple previously unrecognized metabolites and metabolic pathways. These findings support the need for integrative assessment of microbial function to investigate the microbiome in IBS and identify novel microbiome-related therapeutic targets. Video Abstract.

Psychological Factors Associated With Adherence to Oral Treatment in Ulcerative Colitis.

INTRODUCTION: Medication nonadherence in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) can result in frequent relapses, severe disease, and higher risk of colorectal cancer. Behavioral models relying on motivation and perceived competence, like the self-determination theory (SDT), have been implicated in nonadherence; however, the SDT has not been evaluated in the adult UC population. We sought to examine the association between adherence to oral medications in patients with UC and psychological distress, relationship with health care providers, motivation, and competence. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study within the Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Partners online registry in which participants completed a baseline survey including demographic information, IBD history, symptoms, medication adherence, and psychosocial factors. Members of the registry with a diagnosis of UC received an online follow-up survey that included baseline questionnaires and assessment of competence, motivation, and patient-physician relationship. Logistic regression models were performed to determine the relationship between psychosocial factors, adherence modifiers, and medication adherence. RESULTS: Of the 410 UC patients included, 29% had low adherence to their medications, 36% had medium adherence, and 34% had high adherence. In the multivariable analysis, younger patients, those with a lower perceived competence, and those with worse relationship with their providers were more likely to have lower adherence to their medications. CONCLUSIONS: Poor adherence to oral medications in UC was associated with lower perceived competence and worse relationship with providers. Further interventions based on the SDT can potentially improve adherence and optimize patient care.

In a cross-sectional study within the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Partners online registry, poor adherence to oral medications in adult patients with ulcerative colitis was associated with lower perceived competence and worse relationship with providers.

Study protocol and methods for Easing Pelvic Pain Interventions Clinical Research Program (EPPIC): a randomized clinical trial of brief, low-intensity, transdiagnostic cognitive behavioral therapy vs education/support for urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome (UCPPS).

BACKGROUND: Urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome (UCPPS) encompasses several common, costly, diagnoses including interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome and chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome that are poorly understood and inadequately treated with conventional medical therapies. Behavioral strategies, recommended as a first-line treatment for managing symptoms, are largely inaccessible, time and labor intensive, and technically complex. The Easing Pelvic Pain Interventions Clinical Research Program (EPPIC) is a clinical trial examining the efficacy of low-intensity cognitive behavioral therapy (Minimal Contact CBT or MC-CBT) for UCPPS and its durability 3 and 6 months post treatment. Additional aims include characterizing the operative processes (e.g., cognitive distancing, context sensitivity, coping flexibility, repetitive negative thought) that drive MC-CBT-induced symptom relief and pre-treatment patient variables that moderate differential response. METHODS: UCPPS patients (240) ages 18-70 years, any gender, ethnicity, and race, will be randomized to 4-session MC-CBT or a credible, non-specific education comparator (EDU) that controls for the generic effects from simply going to treatment. Efficacy assessments will be administered at pre-treatment, 2 weeks, and 3 and 6 months post treatment-week acute phase. A novel statistical approach applied to micro-analytic mediator assessment schedule will permit the specification of the most effective CBT component(s) that drive symptom relief. DISCUSSION: Empirical validation of a low-intensity self-management therapy transdiagnostic in scope has the potential to improve the health of chronic pelvic pain patients refractory to medical therapies, reduce social and economic costs, conserve health care resources, as well as inform evidence-based practice guidelines. Identification of change mechanisms and moderators of treatment effects can provide proactive patient-treatment matching fundamental to goals of personalized medicine. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT05127616. Registered on 9/19/21.

Cognitive flexibility improves in cognitive behavioral therapy for irritable bowel syndrome but not nonspecific education/support.

This study tested the novel hypothesis that CBT-treated IBS patients who learn to self-manage painful GI symptoms by targeting rigid cognitive style show improvement in cognitive flexibility, GI symptoms (e.g., abdominal pain), and quality of life. Participants included 130 Rome-III diagnosed IBS patients (M age = 40.3, F = 83%) with moderate-to-severe symptoms randomly assigned to either cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT; N = 86) or a nonspecific education/support (EDU) comparator (N = 44). Participants completed an assessment battery at baseline and post-treatment 2 weeks after 10-week acute treatment phase. Measures included cognitive flexibility, psychological flexibility, emotion regulation strategies, IBS symptom severity, quality of life (QOL), and distress. CBT but not EDU patients showed significant GI sympton improvement from baseline to post-treatment in cognitive flexibility. For CBT patients, changes in cognitive flexibility were significantly associated with changes in IBS symptom severity, abdominal pain, and IBS QOL. Neither condition showed significant changes in psychological flexibility (Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II) or use of emotion regulation strategies (Emotion Regulation Questionnaire). The ability to self-manage painful IBS symptoms refractory to conventional medical and dietary treatments is related to the ability to respond flexibly across shifting contexts using cognitive change procedures featured in CBT for IBS.

Do I really have to do my homework? The role of homework compliance in cognitive behavioral therapy for irritable bowel syndrome.

Treatment guidelines identify cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as a treatment of choice for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). As a learning-based treatment, homework assignments are regarded as important for optimizing outcomes for CBT-treated patients. However, their actual benefit for IBS is unknown. This study examined whether homework completion corresponds with immediate and sustained treatment response in IBS patients enrolled in CBT treatment. Subjects were 358 IBS patients receiving clinic-based CBT (10 session), home-based CBT (4 session), or a 4 session, non-specific IBS education comparator as part of a large NIH trial. Homework completion was rated by clinician at each session. IBS symptom improvement was measured with the Clinician Global Improvement Scale at treatment week 5, post-treatment (week 12), and at follow-ups (weeks 22, 34, 46, 62). Homework completion rates over the 10-week acute phase corresponded with greater IBS symptom improvement and patient satisfaction at post-treatment. Early treatment homework completion did not predict early treatment response. Contrary to expectations, homework compliance rates were not greater among in-clinic session patients than home-based patients. Data lend empirical support to the clinical value of homework in teaching patients how to self-manage painful GI symptoms refractory to conventional medical and dietary therapies.

Comparing Patient and Provider Experiences with Atrial Fibrillation to Highlight Gaps and Opportunities for Improving Care.

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common abnormal heart rhythm, places a considerable burden on patients, providers, and the US healthcare system. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this qualitative study was to compare patients' and providers' interpretations and responses to AF symptoms and to identify where treatment can be improved to better address patient needs and well-being. DESIGN: Qualitative design using focus groups with patients (3 groups) and providers (3 groups). PARTICIPANTS: Patients with physician-confirmed AF (n=29) and cardiologists, primary care physicians, and cardiac nurses (n=24). APPROACH: Focus groups elicited patient and provider perspectives regarding the symptom experience of AF, treatment goals, and gaps in care. Patient and provider transcripts were analyzed separately, using a thematic content analysis approach, and then compared. KEY RESULTS: While patients and providers described similar AF symptoms, patients' illness experiences included a wider range of symptoms that elicited anxiety and impacted quality of life (QOL) across many biopsychosocial domains. Patients and providers prioritized different treatment goals. Providers tended to focus on controlling symptoms congruent with objective findings, minimizing stroke risk, and restoring sinus rhythm. Patients focused on improving QOL by reducing medication use or procedures. Both patients and providers struggled with patients' cardiac-related anxiety. Patients expressed an unmet need for education and support. CONCLUSION: Patients with AF experience a range of symptoms and QOL issues. While guidelines recommend shared-decision making, discordance between patient and provider perspectives on the importance, priority, and impact of patients' perceived AF symptoms and consequent cardiac anxiety may result in differing treatment priorities. Starting from a perspective that contextualizes AF in the broader context of patients' lives, prioritizes QOL, and addresses symptom-specific anxiety as a prime concern may better address patients' unmet needs.

Cognitive behavioral therapy for irritable bowel syndrome induces bidirectional alterations in the brain-gut-microbiome axis associated with gastrointestinal symptom improvement.

BACKGROUND: There is growing recognition that bidirectional signaling between the digestive tract and the brain contributes to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). We recently showed in a large randomized controlled trial that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) reduces IBS symptom severity. This study investigated whether baseline brain and gut microbiome parameters predict CBT response and whether response is associated with changes in the brain-gut-microbiome (BGM) axis. METHODS: Eighty-four Rome III-diagnosed IBS patients receiving CBT were drawn from the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Outcome Study (IBSOS; ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00738920) for multimodal brain imaging and psychological assessments at baseline and after study completion. Fecal samples were collected at baseline and post-treatment from 34 CBT recipients for 16S rRNA gene sequencing, untargeted metabolomics, and measurement of short-chain fatty acids. Clinical measures, brain functional connectivity and microstructure, and microbiome features associated with CBT response were identified by multivariate linear and negative binomial models. RESULTS: At baseline, CBT responders had increased fecal serotonin levels, and increased Clostridiales and decreased Bacteroides compared to non-responders. A random forests classifier containing 11 microbial genera predicted CBT response with high accuracy (AUROC 0.96). Following treatment, CBT responders demonstrated reduced functional connectivity in regions of the sensorimotor, brainstem, salience, and default mode networks and changes in white matter in the basal ganglia and other structures. Brain changes correlated with microbiome shifts including Bacteroides expansion in responders. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-treatment intestinal microbiota and serotonin levels were associated with CBT response, suggesting that peripheral signals from the microbiota can modulate central processes affected by CBT that generate abdominal symptoms in IBS. CBT response is characterized by co-correlated shifts in brain networks and gut microbiome that may reflect top-down effects of the brain on the microbiome during CBT. Video abstract.

Specific and common mediators of gastrointestinal symptom improvement in patients undergoing education/support vs. cognitive behavioral therapy for irritable bowel syndrome.

Objective: This study sought to characterize change mechanisms that underlie gastrointestinal (GI) symptom improvement in IBS patients undergoing two dosages of CBT for IBS as compared to a nondirective education/support (EDU) condition. Method: Data were collected in the context of a large clinical trial that randomized 436 Rome III-diagnosed IBS patients (Mage = 41, 80 % female) to standard, clinic-based CBT (S-CBT), a largely home-based version with minimal therapist contact (MC-CBT) or Education/Support that controlled for nonspecific effects. Outcome was measured with the IBS-version of the Clinical Global Improvement scale that was administered at Week 5 and 2-week posttreatment (Week 12). Potential mediators (IBS Self-efficacy (IBS-SE), pain catastrophizing, fear of GI symptoms, and treatment alliance were assessed at Weeks 3, 5, and 8 during treatment with the exception of treatment expectancy that was measured at the end of Session 1. Results: IBS-SE, a positive treatment expectancy for symptom improvement, and patient-therapist agreement on tasks for achieving goals mediated effects of CBT early in treatment (rapid response, RR) and at posttreatment. Notwithstanding their different intensities, both CBT conditions had comparable RR rates (43%-45%) and significantly greater than the EDU RR rate of 22%. While pain catastrophizing, fear of GI symptoms, and patient-therapist emotional bonding related to posttreatment symptom improvement, none of these hypothesized mediators explained differences between CBT and EDU, thereby lacking the mechanistic specificity of IBS-SE, task agreement, and treatment expectancy. Conclusion: Findings suggest that CBT-induced GI symptom improvement may be mediated by a constellation of CBT-specific (IBS-SE) and nonspecific (task agreement, treatment expectancy) processes that reciprocally influence each other in complex ways to catalyze, improve, and sustain IBS symptom relief. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Minimal-Contact Versus Standard Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Cost-Effectiveness Results of a Multisite Trial.

BACKGROUND: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common, often disabling gastrointestinal (GI) disorder for which there is no satisfactory medical treatment but is responsive to cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). PURPOSE: To evaluate the costs and cost-effectiveness of a minimal contact version of CBT (MC-CBT) condition for N = 145 for IBS relative to a standard, clinic-based CBT (S-CBT; N = 146) and a nonspecific comparator emphasizing education/support (EDU; N = 145). METHOD: We estimated the per-patient cost of each treatment condition using an activity-based costing approach that allowed us to identify and estimate costs for specific components of each intervention as well as the overall total costs. Using simple means analysis and multiple regression models, we estimated the incremental effectiveness of MC-CBT relative to S-CBT and EDU. We then evaluated the cost-effectiveness of MC-CBT relative to these alternatives for selected outcomes at immediate posttreatment and 6 months posttreatment, using both an intent-to-treatment and per-protocol methodology. Key outcomes included scores on the Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement Scale and the percentage of patients who positively responded to treatment. RESULTS: The average per-patient cost of delivering MC-CBT was $348, which was significantly less than the cost of S-CBT ($644) and EDU ($457) (p < .01). Furthermore, MC-CBT produced better average patient outcomes at immediate and 6 months posttreatment relative to S-CBT and EDU (p < .01). The current findings indicated that MC-CBT is a cost-effective option relative to S-CBT and EDU. CONCLUSION: As predicted, MC-CBT was delivered at a lower cost per patient than S-CBT and performed better over time on the primary outcome of global IBS symptom improvement.

IBS Patients' Treatment Expectancy and Motivation Impacts Quality of the Therapeutic Alliance With Provider: Results of the IBS Outcome Study.

BACKGROUND: In the absence of a satisfactory medical or dietary treatment, the quality of the therapeutic alliance between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients and their provider is deemed critical to managing refractory IBS. Surprisingly, little research has been conducted on the nature of the therapeutic alliance, factors that influence it, or practical strategies to improve it. This study sought to identify actionable variables that impact therapeutic alliance in patients with refractory IBS. METHODS: Subjects included a total of 436 Rome III-diagnosed IBS patients (80% female, mean age=41.39 y) who completed a battery of clinical measures at the beginning of the acute treatment phase of an National Institutes of Health (NIH) behavioral trial. Pretreatment candidate predictor variables were organized into 4 categories: sociodemographic, extraintestinal, interpersonal, clinical (eg, symptom severity, pain intensity), cognitive (eg, treatment motivation, expectancy for improvement). Alliance was assessed by patient and clinician-rated measures of the Working Alliance Inventory after first treatment session. RESULTS: Patient reports of alliance were most strongly and consistently predicted by patient access to interpersonal support [ß=0.16; 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.07-0.25], motivation for IBS symptom improvement (ß=0.12; 95% CI=0.02-0.21), and expectancy of IBS symptom improvement (ß=0.35; 95% CI=0.25-0.44). Therapist ratings of alliance also were predicted by patient expectancy of IBS symptom improvement (ß=0.16; 95% CI=0.05-0.26). CONCLUSION: When managing IBS, a focus on dynamic factors of treatment motivation, social support, and treatment expectancy may be useful in improving the quality of the therapeutic alliance between patient and clinical gastroenterologist.

Skills over pills? A clinical gastroenterologist's primer in cognitive behavioral therapy for irritable bowel syndrome.

INTRODUCTION: Irritable bowel syndrome is a common, painful, and often disabling GI disorder for which there is no satisfactory medical or dietary treatment. The past 10 years have seen the development and validation of a number of psychological treatments of which CBT is arguably the most effective based on two recently conducted multiple site trials from two investigative teams in the UK and USA. AREAS COVERED: The purpose of this review is to describe the principles, processes, procedures, and empirical basis supporting CBT and distinguish it from other psychological treatments available to clinical GE whose patients suffer from refractory IBS. EXPERT OPINION: The efficacy of CBT in treating refractory IBS patients is well established but there is limited understanding of why it works and for whom it is most beneficial. Further, its availability is generally limited to tertiary care settings which may undermine its value proposition if improved self-management is not accompanied by other health-care efficiencies. Systematic efforts to increase both the efficiency of CBT and the way it is delivered (e.g. digital therapeutics, integration into primary care) is critical to optimizing CBT's potential and reducing the public health burden IBS imposes.

Higher Emotional Awareness Is Associated With Reduced Pain in Irritable Bowel Syndrome Patients: Preliminary Results.

OBJECTIVE: Recent evidence indicates that interventions designed to improve emotional awareness reduce pain in irritable bowel syndrome. This preliminary study sought to determine whether trait emotional awareness is associated with typical pain in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. METHODS: Healthy volunteers (n = 66) and irritable bowel syndrome patients (n = 50) were asked to self-report their typical levels of pain intensity and complete both the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale and the Somatization Scale of the Brief Symptom Inventory. RESULTS: Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale scores in irritable bowel syndrome patients did not differ from scores in healthy participants; however, higher Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale scores in irritable bowel syndrome patients predicted lower levels of typical pain intensity (r(45) = -.36, p = .01, 95% CI [-.59, -.08]) and lower levels of somatization (r(45)= -.31, p = .03, 95% CI [-.55, -.02]). CONCLUSIONS: This inverse relationship between emotional awareness and both pain and somatization symptoms is consistent with evidence that irritable bowel syndrome patients experience reduced pain from therapies designed to improve emotional awareness. The Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale could potentially be used to identify patients who could benefit from such therapy and could potentially be a moderator of response to efficacious psychological therapies.