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CompletedNCT00676975TCM-IBSUpdated Apr 25, 2017

The Efficacy of Tradition Chinese Medicine in Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome

A Phase 2 interventional study of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine Placebo in Irritable Bowel Syndrome, sponsored by Chinese University of Hong Kong. Completed at 1 site in China. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2017-04-25.

Sponsored by Chinese University of Hong Kong · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
104
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

To test the efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in relieving symptoms and change of quality of life of patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Read the detailed description

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), characterized by abdominal pain/discomfort and disturbed bowel frequency, is a common functional bowel disorder that accounts for a substantial proportion of patients seen in primary care and secondary referral centers. The impact on patients' quality of life and the economic burden on the community are considerable. However, the outcome of conventional Western medicine in treating IBS has been disappointing. Several potential new therapeutic agents have been withdrawn because of serious adverse events. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used in the treatment of IBS for centuries in Asian countries but scientific evaluation of its therapeutic function is scarce. A methodologically strong trial of a 20-herb formula has shown significant benefit for IBS patients. However, the herbal formulation was inadequately characterized and defined for repeated clinical studies.

Subsequent to complete chemical characterization, a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, phase II dose-escalation clinical trial will be conducted to find an optimally safe and efficacious dosage of this standardized 20-herb preparation in 104 patients aged 18 to 75 with all types of IBS. At each of two dosage levels, 52 participants will be randomized to treatment for 8 weeks with the herbal formula or placebo in a 1:1 allocation ratio, and will be assessed at baseline, weeks 0, 2, 4, 8, and 12 for the clinically important and reliable outcome of patient reported global symptom improvement. At the conclusion of the 1st dosage level, safety will be assessed prior to using the higher dosage in a new cohort of participants. We also will assess individual IBS symptoms, nature, severity, duration, and frequency of adverse events, quality of life, concurrent IBS medications and health care utilization, and will perform blood tests for safety purposes. Adherence to study medication will be verified by dose counts. Results of this dose-ranging study will help to identify the optimal dosage of the herbal formula to be used in future randomized placebo-controlled trials and in head-to-head comparisons with conventional pharmaceuticals.

02

Conditions studied

  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Keywords

  • Irritable Bowel disease
  • Traditional Chinese Medicine
03

In context

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

1,084 studies on the registry are indexed under Irritable Bowel Syndrome; 196 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 104 is above the median of 70 across 869 interventional studies indexed under Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Browse Irritable Bowel Syndrome studies →

Lead sponsor

Chinese University of Hong Kong is the lead sponsor of 1,446 studies on the registry; 467 are open to participants now.

Of its 6 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 0 (0%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • All IBS patients attending the Gastroenterology Clinic of the Prince of Wales Hospital of Hong Kong.
  • Age 18-75 inclusive
  • IBS diagnosed by Rome III criteria:

    • Recurrent abdominal pain or discomfort at least three days per month in the previous three months
    • Symptom onset at least six months prior to diagnosis
    • Pain or discomfort associated with two or more of the following:

      1. Improvement with defecation
      2. Onset associated with a change in frequency of stool
      3. Onset associated with a change in form (appearance) of stool
  • Normal colonic evaluation (colonoscopy or barium enema) in past 5 years
  • No "global symptom improvement" as rated by patients (see below) at baseline and during the two-week run-in period
  • Normal full blood count, liver function test and renal function test.
  • Informed written consent for participation into study.
  • Ethical approval will be obtained from the Joint CUHK-NTEC Clinical Research Ethics Committee as well as the IRB of UMB.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Past or present history of organic disease of gastrointestinal tract (e.g. colorectal cancer, advanced colonic polyp, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, peptic ulcer and previous gastrointestinal surgery). (Note: those with polyps removed during colonoscopy can be included, as long as no known polyps remained).
  • Systemic diseases that cause diarrhea or constipation (e.g. thyroid disease, diabetic neuropathy)
  • Lactose intolerance
  • Severe liver diseases (e.g. cirrhosis, chronic active hepatitis)
  • Renal impairment (serum creatinine level > 150mmol/L)
  • Women who are pregnant, lactating or not practicing proper contraception
  • Known hypersensitivity to herbal medicine
  • Concommitant use of prescription antidepressant medication.
  • Current alcoholism and drug abuse
  • Current psychiatric illness or dementia
  • Fever or severe illness at baseline (week 0).
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
104 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Traditional Chinese Medicine

    Traditional Chinese Medicine 17g herbal extract

    Drug: Traditional Chinese Medicine

  • Placebo comparator
    Traditional Chinese Medicine Placebo

    Placebo

    Drug: Traditional Chinese Medicine Placebo

Interventions

  • DrugTraditional Chinese Medicine

    A herbal extract 17g once daily for 8 weeks for lower dosage, and 34g for higher dosage. The 20-herb formulation are Agastache rugosa,Fraxinus rhynchophylla, Angelica dahurica,Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Artemisia capillaris, Magnolia officinalis, Atractylodes macrocephala,Paeonia lactiflora, Aucklandia lappa, Plantago asiatica,Bupleurum chinense, Phellodendron amurense, Citrus reticulate, Poria cocos, Codonopsis pilosula, Saposhnikovia diraricata, Coix lacryma-jobi, Schisandra chinensis, Coptis chinensis, Zingiber officinale

  • DrugTraditional Chinese Medicine Placebo

    Placebo once daily for 8 weeks

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Patient reported global symptom improvement, based on this question: "Have you had adequate relief of your symptoms over the last two weeks"? (yes/no)

    Time frame: 12 weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. Bowel Symptom Scale (BSS): to assess changes in individual IBS and global IBS symptoms. QoL assessment:one disease-specific (IBS-QoL) and one generic (SF-36), will be used.

    Time frame: 12 weeks

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Li Ka Shing Specialist Clinic, Prince of Wales Hospital
    Hong Kong (sar), 852, China
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Ran from May 2008 to primary completion in Dec 2010, 31 months.

Of 39 phase 2 interventional studies under Irritable Bowel Syndrome, half reached primary completion within 20 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 12 and three quarters within 38. This study's 31 months is above that.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
May 9, 2008
First posted
May 13, 2008
StartActual
May 26, 2008
Primary completionActual
Dec 30, 2010
CompletionActual
Aug 30, 2011
Last update
Apr 25, 2017
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Apr 25, 2017, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00676975
Responsible party
Francis KL Chan (professor, Chinese University of Hong Kong) — Principal investigator
First posted
May 13, 2008
Start date
May 26, 2008
Primary completion
Dec 30, 2010
Completion
Aug 30, 2011
Last update
Apr 25, 2017

Study contacts

Francis KL Chan, MD
principal investigator · Chinese University of Hong Kong

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Apr 2017. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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