Face-to-Face Versus Digital, Telephone-Delivered, and Self-Help Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Systematic Review and Bayesian Indirect Treatment Comparison Meta-Analysis

This is the first Bayesian meta-analysis to incorporate effective and required sample size calculations for comparisons among CBT modalities in IBS. We analyzed continuous data of the outcomes. Meanwhile, we computed the effective and required sample sizes, thereby quantifying the informational adequacy of each comparison. Our Bayesian meta-analysis demonstrated significant potential for digital, self-help, and telephone-delivered CBT for patients with IBS, but the effective sample sizes of most comparisons were inadequate. Digital, self-help, and telephone-delivered CBT can serve as important options for managing IBS in clinical practice. Given high heterogeneity, high risk of bias, and inadequate effective sample sizes, more high-quality studies are warranted.