title: Open-label treatment with citalopram in patients with irritable bowel syndrome: a pilot study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This open-label pilot study investigated whether the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) citalopram improves symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a functional gastrointestinal disorder with frequent psychiatric comorbidity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifteen patients meeting Rome I criteria for IBS were administered open-label citalopram (20-40 mg/day) for 12 weeks. The study was conducted from October 2000 to August 2001.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twelve (80%) of the 15 subjects reported a > or = 50% decrease in the presence of abdominal pain, 10 (67%) reported a > or = 50% reduction in the severity of the symptom, and 12 (80%) reported a > or = 50% reduction in the frequency of the symptom. Approximately one half of the patients met criteria for remission (> or = 70% improvement) of abdominal pain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results of this pilot study suggest that large controlled trials are needed to further evaluate the efficacy of SSRIs such as citalopram for the treatment of IBS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA. pmasand@pyschme.net
authors.forename: Prakash S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Masand
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Thomas L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.forename: Subhdeep
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Virk
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hameed
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Kaplan