SynthesisBMC gastroenterology2016
Effects of probiotic type, dose and treatment duration on irritable bowel syndrome diagnosed by Rome III criteria: a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC gastroenterology, 2016. 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 72 papers, 4 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.
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
Who cites it
72 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 178 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evaluating the Efficacy of Probiotics in IBS Treatment Using a Systematic Review of Clinical Trials and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Clinical effect of probiotics in prevention or treatment of gastrointestinal disease in dogs: A systematic review.Journal of veterinary internal medicine · 2019Pooled it
- Efficacy of different probiotic protocols in irritable bowel syndrome: A network meta-analysis.Medicine · 2019Pooled it
- Trial
- Trial
- Sequential laxative-probiotic usage for treatment of irritable bowel syndrome: a novel method inspired by mathematical modelling of the microbiome.Scientific reports · 2020Trial
- The Effectiveness of Synbiotic Preparation ContainingNutrients · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Randomized clinical trial: the effect of probiotic Bacillus coagulans Unique IS2 vs. placebo on the symptoms management of irritable bowel syndrome in adults.Scientific reports · 2019Trial
- Dietary geraniol ameliorates intestinal dysbiosis and relieves symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome patients: a pilot study.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2018Trial
- A randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial of a multi-strain probiotic formulation (Bio-Kult®) in the management of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome.BMC gastroenterology · 2018Trial
- The effect of Clostridium butyricum on symptoms and fecal microbiota in diarrhea-dominant irritable bowel syndrome: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2018Trial
- A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of liveGut microbesTrial
- The role ofAnnals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2026Article
- Viable and Heat-InactivatedMicroorganisms · 2026Article
- Strain-Specific Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis of Probiotics Efficacy in the Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Article
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Diarrhea (IBS-D): Effects ofMicroorganisms · 2025Article
- Effect of Probiotics on Improving Intestinal Mucosal Permeability and Inflammation after Surgery.Gut and liver · 2025Article
12 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
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIrritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common functional gastroenterological diseases, affecting 11.2 % of people worldwide. Previous studies have shown that probiotic treatment may benefit IBS patients. However, the effect of probiotics and the appropriate type, dose, and treatment duration for IBS are still unclear. The aim of the current study was to assess the efficacy of different probiotic types, doses and treatment durations in IBS patients diagnosed by Rome III criteria via a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
methodsMedline, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials up to October 2015 were searched. RCTs including comparisons between the effects of probiotics and placebo on IBS patients diagnosed by Rome III criteria were eligible. Dichotomous data were pooled to obtain the relative risk (RR) with a 95 % confidence interval (CI), whereas continuous data were pooled using a standardized mean difference (SMD) with a 95 % CI.
resultsTwenty-one RCTs were included in this meta-analysis. Probiotic therapy was associated with more improvement than placebo administration in overall symptom response (RR: 1.82, 95 % CI 1.27 to 2.60) and quality of life (QoL) (SMD: 0.29, 95 % CI 0.08 to 0.50), but not in individual IBS symptoms. Single probiotics, a low dose, and a short treatment duration were more effective with respect to overall symptom response and QoL. No differences were detected in individual IBS symptoms in the subgroup analyses.
conclusionProbiotics are an effective pharmacological therapy in IBS patients. Single probiotics at a low dose and with a short treatment duration appear to be more effective in improving overall symptom response and QoL, but more evidence for these effects is still needed.
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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.