Evidence map›Paper›PMID 19326107›Full record

SynthesisEuropean journal of clinical pharmacology2009

Does the use of probiotics/synbiotics prevent postoperative infections in patients undergoing abdominal surgery? A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Eleni Pitsouni, Vangelis Alexiou, Vasilis Saridakis, George Peppas, Matthew E Falagas

Open access · greenAbstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in European journal of clinical pharmacology, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
33citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
6.5field-weighted citation impact, top 3% 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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

33 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 87 citations in OpenAlex.

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  9. Significant changes in the intestinal environment after surgery in patients with colorectal cancer.Journal of gastrointestinal surgery : official journal of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract · 2013
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  10. Probiotic prophylaxis of ventilator-associated pneumonia: a blinded, randomized, controlled trial.American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · 2010
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  20. Pharmacological Effects of Marine-DerivedBioMed research international · 2021
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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

5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Eleni PitsouniAlfa Institute of Biomedical Sciences (AIBS), 9 Neapoleos Street, 15123 Marousi, Greece.
Vangelis Alexiou
Vasilis Saridakis
George Peppas
Matthew E Falagas
Alfa Institute of Biomedical Sciences · GRHenry Dunant Hospital · GRTufts University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAdvances in surgery have considerably lowered postoperative morbidity. However, infection remains a considerable morbidity factor. The aim of this review is to identify the potential benefit(s) of the perioperative administration of probiotics/synbiotics to patients undergoing abdominal surgery.

methodsWe searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane library to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that studied the perioperative administration of probiotics/synbiotics to patients undergoing abdominal surgery.

resultsNine RCTs studying 733 patients were included in our review. The incidence of postoperative pneumonia, cholangitis, and any infections as well as the duration of postoperative hospital stay and length of antibiotic therapy were lower among patients receiving probiotics than in the control group [six RCTs, 355 patients, odds ratio (OR) 0.24, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.09-0.68; three RCTs, 209 patients, OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.05-0.57; seven RCTs, 514 patients, OR 0.26, 95% CI 0.12-0.55; five RCTs, 313 patients, OR -2.70, 95% CI -5.15 to -0.25; four RCTs, 250 patients, OR -4.01, 95% CI -5.11 to -2.92, respectively], while the incidence of postoperative wound infection, urinary tract infection, intra-abdominal abscess, and mortality was not different between patients of the compared groups (six RCTs, 355 patients, OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.23-1.18; five RCTs, 313 patients, OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.04-5.54; four RCTs, 226 patients, OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.12-1.59; nine RCTs, 685 patients, OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.29-3.29, respectively).

conclusionThe use of probiotics/synbiotics may reduce postoperative infections after abdominal surgery. This is a promising infection-preventive measure that may decrease morbidity, length of antibiotic therapy, duration of hospital stay, and pressure for emergence of antimicrobial resistance. However, the results of this meta-analysis should be interpreted with caution due to the significant heterogeneity of the studies included.

Indexed as

ProbioticsAbdomenHumansIncidenceInfection ControlPostoperative ComplicationsRandomized Controlled Trials as Topic

Identifiers

PMID19326107
OpenAlexW1994717462

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.