Online Education Is Non-Inferior to Group Education for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Randomized Trial and Patient Preference Trial

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Structured education can reduce symptoms in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but the availability of such interventions is limited and online formats could facilitate their dissemination. We compared the effectiveness of Internet-delivered vs face-to-face education in patients with IBS, hypothesizing that the online format would not be inferior. METHODS: We conducted 2 trials of Internet-delivered vs face-to-face group education (3 weeks) at a gastroenterology outpatient clinic in Sweden. In the first trial, 141 patients with IBS were assigned randomly (1:1) to either Internet-delivered or face-to-face education, from August 2016 through June 2017. In the second trial, 155 patients with IBS were allowed to choose whether to receive education via the Internet or face to face, from August 2017 through September 2018. Patients completed questionnaires before, during, and after education. The primary outcome measure was the irritable bowel syndrome severity scoring system, which measures IBS severity on a scale from 0 to 500, based on abdominal pain, bloating, dissatisfaction with bowel habits, and interference with life. The primary test of noninferiority adhered to the intent-to-treat principle and concerned the difference in change up to 6 months after education, tested using the 1-sided CI for the time by group interaction in a linear mixed model fitted on data from the randomized controlled trial. A secondary per-protocol analysis used data from all treatment completers in both trials. The noninferiority margin was 40 points on the irritable bowel syndrome severity scoring system. RESULTS: In the primary analysis, patients who received face-to-face education had an average reduction in irritable bowel syndrome severity score that was 12.2 points more than that of patients who received Internet education (1-sided 95% CI upper bound, 38.4). In the per-protocol analysis, patients who received face-to-face education reduced their average irritable bowel syndrome severity score by 14.7 points more than patients who received Internet education (95% CI upper bound, 35.5). Face-to-face education had significantly higher credibility and produced a significantly larger increase in self-rated knowledge, although most patients preferred Internet-delivered education. Between-group effects on secondary symptoms were small. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the comparison of Internet-delivered vs face-to-face education for IBS, the upper bound of the CI for the difference in change up to 6 months after education was within the noninferiority margin of 40 points. We therefore conclude that Internet-delivered education is noninferior to face-to-face education. Future research should focus on increasing within-group effects.

Automated summary

Two trials compared Internet-delivered vs face-to-face education for patients with IBS, showing no significant difference in severity scoring. While most patients preferred Internet-delivered education, face-to-face education had higher credibility and produced a larger increase in self-rated knowledge.