SynthesisBMC gastroenterology2009
A systematic review and meta-analysis: probiotics in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.
Synthesis in BMC gastroenterology, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 81 papers, 8 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
81 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 294 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Probiotics for preventing and treating infant regurgitation: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Maternal & child nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Clinical effect of probiotics in prevention or treatment of gastrointestinal disease in dogs: A systematic review.Journal of veterinary internal medicine · 2019Pooled it
- Systematic review: probiotics in the management of lower gastrointestinal symptoms - an updated evidence-based international consensus.Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics · 2018Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for irritable bowel syndrome.Journal of gastroenterology · 2015Guideline
- Guideline
- Pooled it
- Efficacy and Safety of NewNutrients · 2019Trial
- A randomised controlled trial of a probiotic 'functional food' in the management of irritable bowel syndrome.BMC gastroenterology · 2013Trial
- Trial
- Effect of a multispecies probiotic supplement on quantity of irritable bowel syndrome-related intestinal microbial phylotypes.BMC gastroenterology · 2010Trial
- Probiotic treatment of irritable bowel syndrome in children.German medical science : GMS e-journal · 2010Trial
- Chronic bacterial prostatitis and irritable bowel syndrome: effectiveness of treatment with rifaximin followed by the probiotic VSL#3.Asian journal of andrologyTrial
- Trial
- Probiotics in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: An Umbrella Review of 27 Systematic Reviews on Methodological Quality and Certainty of Evidence.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- From Womb to World: Unravelling the Microbiota's Impact on Health and Disease.International journal of microbiology · 2026Review
- The Efficacy of Probiotics Supplementation on the Quality of Life of Patients with Gastrointestinal Disease: A Systematic Review of Clinical Studies.Preventive nutrition and food science · 2024Review
- Dietary Polyphenol, Gut Microbiota, and Health Benefits.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Golden bifid might improve diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome via microbiota modulation.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2022Article
21 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
6 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIrritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a common chronic gastrointestinal disorder and the evidence for efficacy of most drug therapies in the treatment of IBS is weak. A popular alternative is probiotics, which have been used in several conditions. including IBS. Probiotics are live microbial food supplements.The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials study was to evaluate the efficacy of probiotics in alleviating symptoms in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. We searched Ovid versions of MEDLINE (1950-2007), EMBASE (1980-2007), CINAHL (1982-2007), AMED (1985-2007), the Cochrane library and hand searched retrieved papers.
resultsWe identified 14 randomized placebo controlled trials. Combined data suggested a modest improvement in overall symptoms after several weeks of treatment: for dichotomous data from seven trials the overall Odds Ratio (OR) was 1.6 (95% CI, 1.2 to 2.2); for continuous data from six trials the standardised mean difference (SMD) was 0.23 (95% CI, 0.07 to 0.38).For individual symptoms the results differed between the pooled dichotomous and pooled continuous data. Trials varied in relation to the length of treatment (4-26 weeks), dose, organisms and strengths of probiotics used.
conclusionProbiotics may have a role in alleviating some of the symptoms of IBS, a condition for which currently evidence of efficacy of drug therapies is weak. However, as IBS is a condition that is chronic and usually intermittent longer term trials are recommended. Such research should focus on the type, optimal dose of probiotics and the subgroups of patients who are likely to benefit the most.
Indexed as
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.