Muhammad Abdul Quddus, Arslan Shahzad, Rukhsana Munawar, Khawaja Tahir Maqbool, Amna Mansoor, Naveed Gani, Sheikh Muhammad Taqqi Anwer.
Rifaximin: an Option for the Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
J Islamic Int Med Coll Jan ;16(4):215-8.

Objective: To study the response of irritable bowel syndrome patients presenting with diarrhea and abdominal pain to the treatment with Rifaximin. Study Design: Observational descriptive study. Place and Duration of Study: Study was carried out from 1st February 2019 to 1st December 2019 at Gastroenterology department of Combined Military Hospital Rawalakot. Materials and Methods: Total of 113 patients were consecutively chosen from the Gastroenterology Outpatient Department, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Hospital/ AK Combined Military Hospital Rawalakot. Irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea was diagnosed using Rome III criteria. All participants received 550 mg Rifaximin in two divided doses for a period of fourteen days and were observed for six weeks. The assessed symptoms were diarrhea and abdominal pain, which were recorded at baseline and then at 6 week follow up. Descriptive statistics were done to look for the response of patients` clinical symptoms to Rifaximin. Results: Mean age of the participants was 26.96 years. Out of 113 subjects, 45% were male (51/113) and 55% (62/113) females. Rifaximin was found to be effective in relieving symptoms in 99(87.6%) cases while it did not relieve symptoms in 14 (12.4%) cases. Only 14(12.4%) patients developed headache as a side effect, while the rest 99(87.6%) tolerated it well. Conclusion: Rifaximin is a useful, effective and a safe drug for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome patients suffering from diarrhea and abdominal pain.

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