Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27536365›Full record

ArticleUnited European gastroenterology journal2016

Systematic review and meta-analysis: Multi-strain probiotics as adjunct therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication and prevention of adverse events.

Lynne V McFarland, Ying Huang, Lin Wang, Peter Malfertheiner

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in United European gastroenterology journal, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 74 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
74citing papers in PubMed, 11 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

74 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  5. The effect of supplementing withFrontiers in medicine · 2024
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  9. Probiotic monotherapy andWorld journal of gastroenterology · 2018
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  17. World journal of clinical pediatrics · 2026
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14 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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

4 authors.

Lynne V McFarlandDepartment of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
Ying HuangDivision of Gastroenterology, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, P.R. China.
Lin WangDivision of Gastroenterology, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, P.R. China.
Peter MalfertheinerUniversitatsklinikum Magdeburg AOR, Magdeburg, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEradication rates with triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori infections have currently declined to unacceptable levels worldwide. Newer quadruple therapies are burdened with a high rate of adverse events. Whether multi-strain probiotics can improve eradication rates or diminish adverse events remains uncertain.

methodsRelevant publications in which patients with H. pylori infections were randomized to a multi-strain probiotic or control were identified in PubMed, Cochrane Databases, and other sources from 1 January 1960-3 June 2015. Primary outcomes included eradication rates, incidence of any adverse event and the incidence of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. As probiotic efficacy is strain-specific, pooled relative risks and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using meta-analysis stratified by similar multi-strain probiotic mixtures.

resultsA total of 19 randomized controlled trials (20 treatment arms, n = 2730) assessing one of six mixtures of strains of probiotics were included. Four multi-strain probiotics significantly improved H. pylori eradication rates, five significantly prevented any adverse reactions and three significantly reduced antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Only two probiotic mixtures (Lactobacillus acidophilus/Bifidobacterium animalis and an eight-strain mixture) had significant efficacy for all three outcomes.

conclusionsOur meta-analysis found adjunctive use of some multi-strain probiotics may improve H. pylori eradication rates and prevent the development of adverse events and antibiotic-associated diarrhea, but not all mixtures were effective.

Indexed as

adverse eventsdiarrheaHelicobacter pylorimeta-analysisProbiotics

Identifiers

PMID27536365
PMCPMC4971786

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.