Homeopathy for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (HIBS)

A randomised controlled trial to evaluate the clinical and cost effectiveness of two adjunctive treatments for patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) compared to usual care alone: A - Homeopathic treatment (consultation + homeopathic medicine) and B - Supportive listening

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN90651143

Enrollment

198

Registered

2011-11-14

Start date

2011-01-14

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2016-10-17

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Irritable bowel syndrome Digestive System Irritable bowel syndrome

Interventions

Three armed trial using the 'cohort multiple RCT' design (Relton 2010). The three arms will be: 1. Homeopathic treatment + usual care 2. Supportive listening + usual care 3. Usual care alone

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Diagnosis of Irritable bowel syndrome (according to ROME III diagnostic criteria for IBS) 2. Aged 18 and over 3. Consent to fill in and return further postal questionnaires to the researchers 4. Score of more than 100 on the IBS Symptom Severity Score (Francis et al., 1997), this score if often taken as the cut off for symptomatic IBS 5. Fluent in English

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Pregnant or breast feeding 2. Unstable medical or psychiatric illness 3. Currently receiving treatment from a homeopath or taking homeopathic medicines 4. Current diagnosis of haemophilia or cancer, or major gastrointestinal surgery in previous 6 months

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Irritable bowel syndrome symptom severity scale	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
1. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) 2. EQ-5D	—

Countries

United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Mar 25, 2026