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

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

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-∞)
  1. 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
  2. *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)
  3. †Control group risk estimates come from the control arm of meta-analysis, based on included trials
  4. ⨁⨁⨁⨁‡ High: downgraded on risk of bias, upgraded on large magnitude of effect
  5. ⨁⨁⨁◯§ Moderate: downgraded on risk of bias
  6. ⨁⨁◯◯ǁ Low: downgraded on risk of bias and imprecision
  7. CI indicates confidence interval
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