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

Background and Objective: 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). Methods: 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. Findings: 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