Evidence map›Paper›PMID 18461650›Full record

SynthesisWorld journal of gastroenterology2008

Meta-analysis of probiotics for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.

Lynne V McFarland, Sascha Dublin

Registry-linked trialOpen access · hybridAbstract readMeta-AnalysisReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in World journal of gastroenterology, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04037826 (Randomized Clinical Trial on the Safety and Efficacy of L. Reuteri DSM 17938 and L. Reuteri ATCC PTA 6475 in the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Adults. Version 1.0, CSUB 0137, 27Jun2017), which is not on this map. Cited by 75 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
75citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
21.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT04037826 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2018, after this paper: background citation

Randomized Clinical Trial on the Safety and Efficacy of L. Reuteri DSM 17938 and L. Reuteri ATCC PTA 6475 in the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Adults. Version 1.0, CSUB 0137, 27Jun2017

TypeinterventionalSponsorInnovacion y Desarrollo de Estrategias en SaludRan2018 to 2022Enrolled140ConditionsIrritable Bowel SyndromeArmsL. reuteri DSM 17938 and L. reuteri ATCC PTA 6475, Placebo
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

75 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 340 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. World journal of gastroenterology · 2017
    Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Guideline
  6. Pooled it
  7. Pooled it
  8. Trial
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  15. Probiotic treatment of irritable bowel syndrome in children.German medical science : GMS e-journal · 2010
    Trial
  16. Trial
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Article

15 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Lynne V McFarlandDepartment of Health Services Research and Development, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle WA 98101, United States. lynne.mcfarland@va.gov
Sascha Dublin
AZ Sint-Lucas · BEVA Puget Sound Health Care System · US

Funding

Pharmacepidemiology in the elderly: medications pneumonia risk and confoundingK23AG028954 · NIA · KAISER FOUNDATION HEALTH PLAN OF WASHINGTON · PI DUBLIN, SASCHA · 2007 to 2011
$864k
NIA NIH HHS AG028954-01A1NIA NIH HHS K23 AG028954
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic condition affecting 3%-25% of the general population. As no curative treatment is available, therapy is aimed at reducing symptoms, often with little success. Because alteration of the normal intestinal microflora has been observed in IBS, probiotics (beneficial microbes taken to improve health) may be useful in reducing symptoms. This paper systematically reviews randomized, controlled, blinded trials of probiotics for the treatment of IBS and synthesizes data on efficacy across trials of adequate quality. PubMed, Medline, Google Scholar, NIH registry of clinical trials, metaRegister, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched from 1982-2007. We also conducted secondary searches of reference lists, reviews, commentaries, relevant articles on associated diseases, books and meeting abstracts. Twenty trials with 23 probiotic treatment arms and a total of 1404 subjects met inclusion criteria. Probiotic use was associated with improvement in global IBS symptoms compared to placebo [pooled relative risk (RR pooled) 0.77, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.62-0.94]. Probiotics were also associated with less abdominal pain compared to placebo [RR pooled = 0.78 (0.69-0.88)]. Too few studies reported data on other IBS symptoms or on specific probiotic strains to allow estimation of a pooled RR. While our analyses suggest that probiotic use may be associated with improvement in IBS symptoms compared to placebo, these results should be interpreted with caution, given the methodological limitations of contributing studies. Probiotics warrant further study as a potential therapy for IBS.

Indexed as

Gastrointestinal TractHumansIrritable Bowel SyndromeProbioticsRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicResearch DesignTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID18461650
PMCPMC2709042
OpenAlexW2006897039

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

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.