BACKGROUND
Questionnaires are necessary tools for assessing symptoms of disorders of the brain-gut interaction in clinical trials. We previously reported on the excellent compliance to a smartphone app used as symptom diary in a randomized clinical trial in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Other sampling methods, such as the experience sampling method (ESM), are better equipped to measure symptom variability over time, provide useful information regarding possible symptom triggers and are free of ecological and recall bias. The high frequency of measurements, however, could limit the feasibility of ESM in clinical trials.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to compare compliance rates of a smartphone-based end-of-day diary and ESM for symptom assessment in irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia (FD).
METHODS
Data from four studies were included. Patients with IBS participated in a randomized controlled trial, which involved a smartphone end-of-day diary of 2+8 weeks (pre-treatment + treatment period), and an observational study, during which patients completed ESM assessments using a smartphone application for one week. Patients with FD participated in a randomized controlled trial, which involved a smartphone end-of-day diary of 2+12 weeks (pre-treatment + treatment period), and an observational study, during which patients completed ESM assessments using a smartphone application for one week. Compliance rates were compared between these two symptom sampling methods.
RESULTS
Twenty-five patients with IBS and fifteen patients with FD were included. Overall compliance rates for the end-of-day diaries were significantly higher than for ESM (IBS: 92.7% versus 69.8%, FD: 90.1% versus 61.4%, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS
We here demonstrate excellent compliance rates for smartphone application-based end-of-day diaries as used in two separate clinical trials. Overall compliance rates for ESM were significantly lower, rendering it more suitable for intermittent sampling periods rather than continuously during longer clinical trials.
Symptom-network dynamics in irritable bowel syndrome with comorbid panic disorder using electronic momentary assessment: A randomized controlled trial of escitalopram vs. placebo
