The Effect of Mesalazine on Pain Management in Patients with Diarrhea-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome is one of the common gastrointestinal complaints that is often resistant to standard treatment. Since mesalazine reduces abdominal pain and diarrhea through its anti-inflammatory effects, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of mesalazine on pain management in patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D).

This case-control study was conducted among 100 patients diagnosed with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome referred to Ayatollah Rouhani Hospital in Babol. Patients were randomly divided into two groups of 50, receiving standard treatment (amitriptyline 25 mg) and a group that received mesalazine at a dose of 500 mg for 4 weeks three times a day in addition to standard treatment. Subjects were examined and compared in terms of pain intensity and frequency of discharge and recovery.

The intensity of pain after treatment in the case group was lower than before treatment (4.66±2.29 vs. 7.80±2.01) (p=0.004). Out of 50 patients, 38 people (76.0%) in the case group and only 20 people (40%) in the control group recovered (p<0.001). In the case group, the number of bowel movements after treatment (2.20±0.92) was significantly less than before (4.92±0.92) (p<0.001). In the control group, the number of bowel movements showed a statistically significant difference before and after treatment (5.22±1.07 vs. 2.50±1.19) (p<0.001).

Based on the results of this study, mesalazine is significantly effective in reducing the intensity of pain caused by irritable bowel syndrome. However, there was no difference in the number of excretions.