Electroacupuncture versus Moxibustion for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Randomized, Parallel-Controlled Trial

Table 2

Baseline demographic characteristics and VAS-IBS total scores.

Parameter	Group EA ()	Group Mox ()
Gender
Female (%)	60.98	65.29
Male (%)	39.02	34.71
Age; yr (mean, (min, max))	39.45 (19, 61)	40.26 (20, 64)
Course of disease; yr (mean ± SD)	6.47 ± 3.84	7.28 ± 5.44
Current medication
Yes (%)	0 (0)	0 (0)
No (%)	41 (100.00)	41 (100.00)
VAS-IBS total score; (mean ± SD)	253.49 ± 45.93	250.24 ± 41.08
IBS subtype
IBS-D (%)	17 (41.46)	18 (43.90)
IBS-C (%)	19 (46.34)	17 (41.46)
IBS-A/IBS-M (%)	5 (12.20)	6 (14.63)

Visual Analogue Scale for Irritable Bowel Syndrome; EA: electroacupuncture; Mox: moxibustion; SD: standard deviation; IBS-C: irritable bowel syndrome with constipation; IBS-D: irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea; IBS-M: mixed irritable bowel syndrome (with both diarrhoea and constipation >25% of bowel movements); and IBS-A: alternating irritable bowel syndrome (bowel habits often vary over time).