The impact of peppermint oil on the irritable bowel syndrome: a meta-analysis of the pooled clinical data

Table 3 Summary of Findings. Peppermint Oil vs. Placebo for the Treatment of IBS

Patient or Population: Patients with Active IBS
Settings: Outpatients
Intervention: Enteric-coated Peppermint Oil Capsules vs. Placebo
Outcomes	Illustrative Comparative Risk*
	Assumed risk	Corresponding risk
	Control (per 1000)	Peppermint Oil vs. Placebo (per 1000)	Relative Risk (95% CI)	No. Participants (Studies)	Quality of Evidence (GRADE)	NNT (95% CI)
Global improvement in IBS symptoms	250†	598 (483 to 743)	2.39 (1.93–2.97)	507 (7)	⨁⨁⨁⨁‡ High	3 (2–4)
Improvement in abdominal pain	303†	539 (433 to 666)	1.78 (1.43–2.20)	556 (6)	⨁⨁⨁◯§ Moderate	4 (3–6)
Adverse events	21†	29 (18 to 47)	1.40 (0.87–2.26)	671 (8)	⨁⨁◯◯ǁ Low	125 (29-∞)

GRADE Working Group grades of evidence. High quality: further research is very unlikely to change our confidence in the estimate of effect. Moderate quality: further research is likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and may change the estimate. Low quality: further research is very likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and is likely to change the estimate. Very low quality: we are very uncertain about the estimate
*The basis for the assumed risk is the median control group risk across studies) . The corresponding risk (and its 95% CI) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI)
†Control group risk estimates come from the control arm of meta-analysis, based on included trials
⨁⨁⨁⨁‡ High: downgraded on risk of bias, upgraded on large magnitude of effect
⨁⨁⨁◯§ Moderate: downgraded on risk of bias
⨁⨁◯◯ǁ Low: downgraded on risk of bias and imprecision
CI indicates confidence interval

ISSN: 2662-7671