Citalopram in Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Clinical Trial

Official title:

Effect of Citalopram on Clinical Symptoms and Visceral Sensitivity in Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT00477165
• Other study ID #: H10539-18502
• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 2
• First received: May 18, 2007
• Last updated: September 12, 2012
• Start date: April 2001
• Est. completion date: June 2009

Study information

• Verified date: September 2012
• Source: University of California, San Francisco
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: UCSF Committee on Human Research, UCSF, CA, USA:
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Hypotheses:

1. Primary null hypothesis: The rate of clinical response, assessed as patient-reported global symptom rating and "adequate relief of IBS symptoms," does not differ between non-depressed IBS patients treated with the SSRI citalopram and patients treated with placebo.

2. Secondary null hypotheses:

1. Changes in disease-related quality of life, assessed with the IBS-QOL instrument, do not differ between patients treated with the SSRI citalopram and patients treated with placebo.

2. Changes in rectosigmoid visceral sensitivity, assessed by barostat balloon distention, do not differ between patients treated with the SSRI citalopram and patients treated with placebo.

Description:

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects an estimated 15 million Americans at a cost of $1.7 billion per year. Visceral hypersensitivity is present in many patients with IBS, but its contribution to clinical symptoms is unclear. Tricyclic antidepressants may be beneficial in IBS, but their side effects can be unacceptable. Because they are better tolerated, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are often used to treat IBS, but their efficacy in IBS has not been examined in controlled studies. We propose a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of SSRI treatment in IBS. Non-depressed patients will be studied in order to assess SSRI effects on IBS independent of depression. Our specific aims are: 1) To determine whether the SSRI citalopram is superior to placebo in improving clinical symptoms, disease-related quality of life, and tolerance to rectal balloon distension; 2) To assess whether symptomatic improvement is correlated with improvement in quality of life and/or visceral sensitivity. Subjects will fulfill Rome II IBS criteria, will have normal screening studies, and will not be depressed or on antidepressants. Global and specific symptoms, and satisfaction will be rated daily during a 1-week baseline. Subjects will then be randomized in concealed, double-blind fashion to citalopram or placebo, will complete the validated IBS-QOL instrument, and will undergo rectal compliance and sensory testing with a barostat. Subjects will be treated and will rate symptoms and satisfaction weekly for a total of 8 weeks, and also daily during the final week for comparison with the baseline. At study end, subjects will again complete the IBS-QOL and undergo a barostat study. The primary outcome will be change in global symptom rating. Secondary outcomes will include the proportion of patients achieving adequate relief and correlations between symptoms, quality of life and barostat parameters. We estimate that to detect a standardized effect size of 0.9 in global symptom rating with 2-sided α=0.05 and β=0.1, 54 subjects are needed. We plan to enroll 60 subjects, which will allow detection of an odds ratio for response (adequate relief) of 4.5 with 2-sided α=0.05 and β=0.2. If the odds ratio for this dichotomous outcome is smaller, this study will provide pilot data for a larger trial. Clinical symptoms are expected to fluctuate. Even if citalopram is not superior to placebo, prospectively collected data will illuminate the relationship between symptoms and visceral sensitivity, and the placebo effect.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 54
• Est. completion date: June 2009
• Est. primary completion date: June 2009
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Both
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

Inclusion criteria are:

1. Fulfilling Rome II IBS definition;(21)

2. Age =18 yrs and able to give informed consent;

3. Normal sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy or barium enema within 5 years, normal complete blood count and thyroid studies, and negative stool ova and parasite exam for patients with diarrhea.(1)

Exclusion Criteria:

Exclusion criteria are:

1. Current psychiatric diagnosis or active treatment with antidepressants;

2. Pregnancy;

3. Major systemic illness, or illness that could explain IBS-like symptoms;

4. Active IBS therapy other than fiber or loperamide.

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Double-Blind, Primary Purpose: Treatment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Syndrome

Intervention

Drug:
• Citalopram

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	UCSF	San Francisco	California

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of California, San Francisco

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Clinical Symptoms, "Adequate relief"		Weekly ratings
Secondary	Quality of Life		End of study and baseline
Secondary	Visceral sensitivity		End of study and baseline