65% of the general population reported experiencing moderate to severe bloating symptoms. Bloating could be disturbing to patients and frustrating to the physicians as an effective treatment is still lacking. Guided Imagery (GI) involves the structured visualisation of mental images with somatic sensory; whereas Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) focuses on tightening and relaxing the body's specific muscle groups. The development and validation of GI or PMR interventions to treat patients with functional abdominal bloating are relatively novel.
The baseline variables of the patient would be obtained at the outpatient Gastrointestinal Medical clinic. A thorough general clinical interview that encompasses medical and psychological history, discussion of the nature and severity of the current symptoms, and review of past treatments and conclusions of any medical evaluation and tests. This is to make sure that the patients have been comprehensively evaluated medically and to rule out other causes of abdominal bloating before reaching a firm diagnosis of functional abdominal bloating as suggested in ROME IV Criteria. Questionnaires will be given out and patients were asked to fill it up on the spot. Electrical activity and abdominal circumference would be measured at an enclosed space with appropriate privacy and accompanied by a chaperone.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
96
Individualized Guided Imagery (GI) technique, an alternative type of relaxation therapy. The content of GI usually includes scenery, places or any image projected to the mind. By using information generated, participants are guided to create a place in their mind using their senses of touch, sound, smell, sight and taste.
Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) therapy works by progressively relaxing and tensing the muscle groups throughout the entire body. Each muscle group will be tensed for about 5 seconds. If there's any pain or discomfort at any of the targeted areas, participants were told to omit that particular step. Constant purposeful deep breathing was instructed throughout the session especially in between changes of muscle.
Participants in the control group will receive an audiobook that targets to educate patients regarding gut-brain disorders, functional gastrointestinal disorders, causes of functional abdominal bloating, and treatment modalities available. Relaxing musical background will be added to facilitate the delivery.
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia
Symptoms severity
Measured using the Malay version of Bloating Severity Questionnaire (BSQ-M). It consists of two components: five-item Sev24 and seven-item SevGen. The responses were in a multiple-choice answer format on different degrees of effect towards individuals on the basis of intensity, frequency and severity (less severe to more severe; range 1 to 4,5,6,7 or 8 varied by items). Higher scores in BSQ indicate worse severity.
Time frame: 1 month
Health belief
Measured using the Malay-Language Health of Bloating (HB-Bloat) Scale. The questionnaire consists of 12 items and 3 domains: attitude (3 items), subjective norm (5 items), perceived control towards self-management (4 items). All responses were measured on a five-point Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).
Time frame: 1 month
Health seeking Intention
Measured using Health Seeking Intention for Abdominal Bloating Scale. It is a 5 point Likert scale that consists of 1 domain and 1 item. 1 indicates "strongly diagree" while 5 indicates "strongly agree"
Time frame: 1 month
Health promoting behavior
Measured using Health Promoting Behavior Scale of Abdominal Bloating. The questionnaire consists of 4 domains and 15 items. The questionnaire is a 5 point Likert scales, whereby 1 is considered strongly disagree and 5 is considered strongly agree.
Time frame: 1 month
Anxiety
Measured using the Malay version of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). It comprises of 14 items, seven of which is related to anxiety symptoms. Each item is coded from 0 to 3. The scores for anxiety and depression can therefore vary from 0 to 21, depending on the presence and severity of the symptoms. A score between 0 and 7 does not indicate the presence of the symptoms of anxiety; a score between 8 and 10 indicates the presence of a moderate symptom; a score of 11 and above indicates a significant number of symptoms of anxiety corresponding to confirmed cases.
Time frame: 1 month
Depression
Measured using the Malay version of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). It comprises of 14 items, seven of which is related to anxiety symptoms. Each item is coded from 0 to 3. The scores for anxiety and depression can therefore vary from 0 to 21, depending on the presence and severity of the symptoms. A score between 0 and 7 does not indicate the presence of the symptoms of anxiety; a score between 8 and 10 indicates the presence of a moderate symptom; a score of 11 and above indicates a significant number of symptoms of anxiety corresponding to confirmed cases.
Time frame: 1 month
Abdominal circumference
Using a non-stretch metric tape
Time frame: 1 month
Electrical activity
Measured using the Megawin ME6000 Electromyograph
Time frame: 1 month
Quality of life for patients with abdominal bloating
Measured using the Malay version of Bloating Quality of Life (BLQoL-M) Questionnaires. The responses for BLQoL were in a 7-point Likert scale on different degrees of impact towards individual ranging from 1 = "never/not related to me" to 7 = "always". Higher scores in BLQoL indicate higher impact towards QoL.
Time frame: 1 month
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