ReviewClinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America2015
Risk and safety of probiotics.
Review in Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 406 papers, 6 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.
A Two-arm, Double-blind, Randomized, Placebo-controlled Trial Investigating the Efficacy of the Probiotic Dietary Supplement SmartProbio C in the Supportive Supplementation of Patients With a Complicated Course of COVID-19 Infection
The Efficacy of NTU 101 Lactic Acid Bacteria Powder in the Adjuvant Improvement of Atopic Dermatitis - A Double-blind, Multi-center Randomized, Placebo-controlled Clinical Trial
Probiotic supplement versus placebo for decrease steatosis in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (masld): a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
Who cites it
406 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 888 citations in OpenAlex.
- Glucose Parameters, Inflammation Markers, and Gut Microbiota Changes of Gut Microbiome-Targeted Therapies in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2025Pooled it
- Probiotics supplements for the prevention of atopic dermatitis in children: an umbrella review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Assessing the long-term effects of microbial therapeutics as treatment within psychiatry: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Probiotics for the postoperative management of term neonates after gastrointestinal surgery.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Probiotic effects on skin health: comprehensive visual analysis and perspectives.Frontiers in microbiology · 2024Pooled it
- Effect of Probiotic Supplementation on Gut Microbiota in Patients with Major Depressive Disorders: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of zinc and probiotic co-supplementation on inflammation, gastrointestinal symptoms, quality of life, and mood in irritable bowel syndrome patients.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Evaluation of the Safety and Impact of Heat-TreatedJournal of microbiology and biotechnology · 2024Trial
- Clinical trial of the effects of postbiotic supplementation on inflammation, oxidative stress, and clinical outcomes in patients with CVA.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Lactiplantibacillus plantarum P9 for chronic diarrhea in young adults: a large double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.Nature communications · 2024Trial
- Probiotic co-supplementation with absorbent smectite for pancreatic beta-cell function in type 2 diabetes: a secondary-data analysis of a randomized double-blind controlled trials.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Trial
- Rethinking probiotics: breaking theGut microbes · 2026Review
- Genomic characterization ofNew microbes and new infections · 2026Article
- Clinical analysis of 16 patients withNew microbes and new infections · 2026Article
- Gut microecology and cardiovascular disease: core pathogenic mechanisms and clinical intervention strategies.Folia microbiologica · 2026Review
- UropathogenicAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Safety and Effectiveness of Probiotic Preparations: A Contemporary Review.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Use of Probiotics with Antibiotics: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices in Community Pharmacy.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Probiotic Yeasts and Bacteria: A Complementary Approach to Gut Health.Microorganisms · 2026Review
346 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
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Probiotics have been used safely for years. Safety outcomes are inconsistently reported in published clinical trials. In 2011, a report released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality concluded that, although the existing probiotic clinical trials reveal no evidence of increased risk, "the current literature is not well equipped to answer questions on the safety of probiotics in intervention studies with confidence." Critics point out that the preponderance of evidence, including the long history of safe probiotic use as well as data from clinical trials, and animal and in vitro studies all support the assumption that probiotics are generally safe for most populations. Theoretical risks have been described in case reports, clinical trial results and experimental models, include systemic infections, deleterious metabolic activities, excessive immune stimulation in susceptible individuals, gene transfer and gastrointestinal side effects. More research is needed to properly describe the incidence and severity of adverse events related to probiotics.
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.