Trial reportBMC surgery2013
Early postoperative administration of probiotics versus placebo in elderly patients undergoing elective colorectal surgery: a double-blind randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in BMC surgery, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
22 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Perioperative Probiotics Application for Preventing Postoperative Complications in Patients with Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Pooled it
- Next-generation probiotics: an outlook into current applications and future developments.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026Review
- Review
- Efficacy of probiotic and synbiotic supplementation on the length of hospital stays and risk of postoperative mortality in patients undergoing surgery: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized clinical trials.European journal of medical research · 2026Review
- Exploring the clinical value of probiotics in the perioperative management of colorectal cancer: Meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis.Oncology letters · 2025Article
- Effects of oral probiotics on inflammation and intestinal function in adult patients after appendectomy: Randomized controlled trial.World journal of gastrointestinal surgery · 2024Article
- A Combinational Therapy for Preventing and Delaying the Onset of Alzheimer's Disease: A Focus on Probiotic and Vitamin Co-Supplementation.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- The relationship between prebiotic intake and allergic rhinitis.Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology · 2023Article
- Article
- Total neoadjuvant therapy for the treatment of locally advanced rectal cancer: a systematic minireview.Biology direct · 2022Review
- The Effect of Perioperative Administration of Probiotics on Colorectal Cancer Surgery Outcomes.Nutrients · 2021Review
- Cross-species examination of single- and multi-strain probiotic treatment effects on neuropsychiatric outcomes.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2019Review
- Utility of Probiotics for Maintenance or Improvement of Health Status in Older People - A Scoping Review.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2019Article
- Article
- Gut microbiota and bacterial translocation in digestive surgery: the impact of probiotics.Langenbeck's archives of surgery · 2017Review
- Hormonal contraceptives and venous thromboembolism: Are inflammatory bowel disease patients at increased risk? A retrospective study on a prospective database.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2015Article
- Consequences of defensive medicine, second victims, and clinical-judicial syndrome on surgeons' medical practice and on health service.Updates in surgery · 2015Review
- Prophylactic negative pressure wound therapy in colorectal surgery. Effects on surgical site events: current status and call to action.Updates in surgery · 2015Review
- Risk and safety of probiotics.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2015Review
- Gallstone ileus without bilioenteric fistula years after bypass surgery for Crohn's disease. Case report and clues to etiology of a neglected cause of obstruction.International journal of surgery case reports · 2015Article
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPerioperative prophylactic antibiotic treatment significantly influences intestinal microflora, resulting in impaired bowel functioning in some patients, sometimes requiring further investigations. This may lead to a worse health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Probiotics administrated in the early post-operative period may help avoiding such nuisances in older people.
methodsWe prospectively enrolled patients undergoing laparoscopic colorectal surgery aged over 70 years between 2005 and 2012. The study was approved by IRB. All patients received perioperative antibiotic treatment. Patients were randomized to one of two treatment arms: Group A patients received probiotics after surgery (VSL#3, VSL Pharmaceuticals, Inc. USA - 900 × 109 daily, while Group B patients received a Placebo (cornstarch). Patients were further divided in sub-groups whether ileo-caecal valve was spared or not. Patients were followed-up every 7 days for 4 weeks. Patients daily annotated bowel frequency, stool shape and consistency - according to Bristol's scale. HRQoL was assessed every week by means of SF-36 questionnaire.
resultsGroup A included 10 while Group B included 8 patients. One patient in each group experienced a postoperative complication. Group A patients had fewer bowel movements than controls, during every week. Stool consistency was higher in patients undergoing resections including ileo-caecal valve receiving VSL#3. HRQoL gradually increased in both groups; Group A patients had higher "social functioning" item scores at week 1 and 4 than controls.
conclusionsElderly patients undergoing resection of ileo-caecal valve may benefit from an early probiotics administration pathway after perioperative antibiotic treatment.
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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.