title: A meta-analysis of the therapeutic effects of amitriptyline for treating irritable bowel syndrome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of amitriptyline as a therapeutic option for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) through a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
  
  
  METHODS
  For the years from 1966 until May 2012, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for double-blind, placebo-controlled trials investigating the efficacy of amitriptyline in the management of IBS.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials met our criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled relative risk for clinical improvement with amitriptyline therapy was 4.18 (95% CI: 2.00 to 8.77, p=0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It was thus concluded that amitriptyline exhibits a clinically and statistically significant control of IBS symptoms.
authors: Department of Family Medicine, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University, China.
authors: Guan-qun
authors: GQ
authors: Chao
authors: Shuo
authors: S
authors: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000639:Amitriptyline / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
chemical_list: D000639:Amitriptyline