Korean J Gastroenterol.  2018 Sep;72(3):121-127. 10.4166/kjg.2018.72.3.121.

Clinical Response of Rifaximin Treatment in Patients with Abdominal Bloating

• Yoon K
• Kim N
• Lee JY
• Oh DH
• Seo AY
• Yun CY
• Yoon H
• Shin CM
• Park YS
• Lee DH

• KMID: 2420749
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4166/kjg.2018.72.3.121

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Abdominal bloating is a troublesome complaint due to insufficient understanding of the pathophysiology. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of rifaximin in reducing bloating associated with functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs).
METHODS
A total of 63 patients were treated with rifaximin for FGIDs with bloating or gas-related symptoms between 2007 and 2013 at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. Rifaximin was administered at a dose between 800 mg/day and 1,200 mg/day for 5 to 14 days. The proportion of patients who had adequate relief of global FGID symptoms and FGID-related bloating was retrospectively assessed. The response was recorded when the symptoms were reduced by at least 50% at the follow-up after treatment cessation.
RESULTS
The mean age was 56.8±14.2 years; 49.2% were females. According to Rome III criteria, 20.6% (13/63) had irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) with constipation, 9.5% (6/63) had IBS with diarrhea, 4.8% (3/63) had mixed IBS, 23.8% (15/63) had functional dyspepsia, and 12.7% (8/63) had functional bloating. Of the 51 subjects who were followed-up, 30 (58.8%) had adequate relief of global FGID symptoms and 26 (51.0%) experienced improvement of abdominal bloating after rifaximin treatment. The proportion of female was slightly higher in non-response group than in the response group (60.0% vs. 34.6%, p=0.069). Otherwise, there was no difference between the two groups.
CONCLUSIONS
Despite the limitations of this retrospective study, our data confirms that rifaximin may be beneficial for abdominal bloating. Further prospective clinical trial with a larger cohort is needed.

Keyword

Abdominal bloating; Rifaximin; Functional gastrointestinal disorders

MeSH Terms

Cohort Studies
Constipation
Diarrhea
Dyspepsia
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Gastrointestinal Diseases
Humans
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Prospective Studies
Retrospective Studies
Seoul
Withholding Treatment

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Flow diagram of the study. After exclusion of 18 patients with organic disease, 51 patients with rifaximin treatment who had been followed-up were analyzed. d/t, due to.

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  Fig. 2 Diagnosis of enrolled patients. Functional bloating was defined as having recurrent bloating without meeting other functional gastrointestinal disorders, such as IBS or FD. FGID, functional gastrointestinal disorder; IBS-C, irritable bowel syndrome with constipation; IBS-D, irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea; IBS-M, mixed type irritable bowel syndrome; FD, functional dyspepsia.

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