Trial reportPloS one2010
Placebos without deception: a randomized controlled trial in irritable bowel syndrome.
Trial report in PloS one, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 7 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 308 papers, 14 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
The Use of an Open Label Placebo to Treat Cancer Related Fatigue in Cancer Survivors
Mind-body Treatments for Chronic Back Pain
Open-Label Placebo Treatment of Women With Premenstrual Syndrome: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Does the Subject's Understanding of Underlying Placebo Mechanisms Compensate for the Loss of Efficacy Associated With the Disclosure of the Use of a Placebo
Conditioning & Open-Label Placebo (COLP) for Opioid Management in Intensive Inpatient Rehabilitation
Conditioned Open-label Placebos to Facilitate Opioid Reduction in Patients With Subacute or Chronic Pain Pain: a Randomized Controlled Trial
Who cites it
308 citing papers in PubMed, 14 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 904 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparative efficacy and safety of Chinese medicine external therapies for diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of open-label placebos across populations and outcomes: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review and meta analysis of open label placebo effects in chronic musculoskeletal pain.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- Open label placebo for chronic low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Pain management · 2025Pooled it
- Social pain: A systematic review on interventions.F1000Research · 2025Pooled it
- Open-label placebos-a systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental studies with non-clinical samples.Scientific reports · 2023Pooled it
- Magnitude of placebo response in clinical trials of paroxetine for vasomotor symptoms: a meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Placebo response and effect in randomized clinical trials: meta-research with focus on contextual effects.Trials · 2021Pooled it
- Blinding, sham, and treatment effects in randomized controlled trials for back pain in 2000-2019: A review and meta-analytic approach.Clinical trials (London, England) · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of open-label placebos in clinical trials: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2021Pooled it
- Placebo response rates and potential modifiers in double-blind randomized controlled trials of second and newer generation antidepressants for major depressive disorder in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- The Influence of Placebo Effect on Craving and Cognitive Performance in Alcohol, Caffeine, or Nicotine Consumers: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- Placebo Economics: A Systematic Review About the Economic Potential of Utilizing the Placebo Effect.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2019Pooled it
- How often do general practitioners use placebos and non-specific interventions? Systematic review and meta-analysis of surveys.PloS one · 2018Pooled it
- Dispositional optimism and open-label placebo responses in hair cortisol concentrations and psychological distress-A randomized controlled trial.Applied psychology. Health and well-being · 2026Trial
- The role of expectations and tailored feedback on the open-label Placebo effect.Journal of health psychology · 2026Trial
- Open-label placebos reduce hair cortisol concentrations and psychological distress - a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- An eight-week placebo-controlled RCT on the efficacy of a probiotic nutritional intervention for subclinical gastrointestinal symptoms in students.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Can Nocebo Effects Be Reduced via Open- and Closed-Label Counterconditioning?European journal of pain (London, England) · 2026Trial
- Roles of administration route, expectation, and belief in placebos in a randomized controlled trial with open-label placebos.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
248 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPlacebo treatment can significantly influence subjective symptoms. However, it is widely believed that response to placebo requires concealment or deception. We tested whether open-label placebo (non-deceptive and non-concealed administration) is superior to a no-treatment control with matched patient-provider interactions in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
methodsTwo-group, randomized, controlled three week trial (August 2009-April 2010) conducted at a single academic center, involving 80 primarily female (70%) patients, mean age 47 ± 18 with IBS diagnosed by Rome III criteria and with a score ≥ 150 on the IBS Symptom Severity Scale (IBS-SSS). Patients were randomized to either open-label placebo pills presented as "placebo pills made of an inert substance, like sugar pills, that have been shown in clinical studies to produce significant improvement in IBS symptoms through mind-body self-healing processes" or no-treatment controls with the same quality of interaction with providers. The primary outcome was IBS Global Improvement Scale (IBS-GIS). Secondary measures were IBS Symptom Severity Scale (IBS-SSS), IBS Adequate Relief (IBS-AR) and IBS Quality of Life (IBS-QoL).
findingsOpen-label placebo produced significantly higher mean (±SD) global improvement scores (IBS-GIS) at both 11-day midpoint (5.2 ± 1.0 vs. 4.0 ± 1.1, p<.001) and at 21-day endpoint (5.0 ± 1.5 vs. 3.9 ± 1.3, p = .002). Significant results were also observed at both time points for reduced symptom severity (IBS-SSS, p = .008 and p = .03) and adequate relief (IBS-AR, p = .02 and p = .03); and a trend favoring open-label placebo was observed for quality of life (IBS-QoL) at the 21-day endpoint (p = .08).
conclusionPlacebos administered without deception may be an effective treatment for IBS. Further research is warranted in IBS, and perhaps other conditions, to elucidate whether physicians can benefit patients using placebos consistent with informed consent.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01010191.
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Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.