Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29806520›Full record

Trial reportThe Journal of international medical research2018

Role of probiotics in the treatment of minimal hepatic encephalopathy in patients with HBV-induced liver cirrhosis.

Xiaoxue Xia, Jiang Chen, Jiayun Xia, Bin Wang, Hua Liu, Ling Yang, Ying Wang, Zongxin Ling

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in The Journal of international medical research, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 59 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
59citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
4.8field-weighted citation impact, top 4% 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

59 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 108 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Review
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Review
  10. The role ofFrontiers in immunology · 2026
    Review
  11. Review
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Microbial Approaches to Treat and Prevent Hepatic Encephalopathy.Gastroenterology clinics of North America · 2025
    Review
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Review
  19. Review
  20. Review
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

8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Xiaoxue Xia1 Department of Infectious Diseases, Changxing People's Hospital, Huzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Jiang Chen1 Department of Infectious Diseases, Changxing People's Hospital, Huzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Jiayun Xia1 Department of Infectious Diseases, Changxing People's Hospital, Huzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Bin Wang1 Department of Infectious Diseases, Changxing People's Hospital, Huzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Hua Liu1 Department of Infectious Diseases, Changxing People's Hospital, Huzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Ling Yang1 Department of Infectious Diseases, Changxing People's Hospital, Huzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Ying Wang1 Department of Infectious Diseases, Changxing People's Hospital, Huzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Zongxin Ling2 Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, the First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9662-099X
State Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective This study was performed to investigate the role of probiotics ( Clostridium butyricum combined with Bifidobacterium infantis) in the treatment of minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-induced liver cirrhosis. Methods Sixty-seven consecutive patients with HBV-induced cirrhosis without overt hepatic encephalopathy were screened using the number connection test and digit symbol test. The patients were randomized to receive probiotics (n = 30) or no probiotics (n = 37) for 3 months. At the end of the trial, changes in cognition, intestinal microbiota, venous ammonia, and intestinal mucosal barriers were analyzed using recommended systems biology techniques. Results The patients' cognition was significantly improved after probiotic treatment. The predominant bacteria ( Clostridium cluster I and Bifidobacterium) were significantly enriched in the probiotics-treated group, while Enterococcus and Enterobacteriaceae were significantly decreased. Probiotic treatment was also associated with an obvious reduction in venous ammonia. Additionally, the parameters of the intestinal mucosal barrier were obviously improved after probiotic treatment, which might have contributed to the improved cognition and the decreased ammonia levels. Conclusion Treatment with probiotics containing C. butyricum and B. infantis represents a new adjuvant therapy for the management of MHE in patients with HBV-induced cirrhosis.

Indexed as

AdultAmmoniaChinaCognition DisordersFemaleGastrointestinal MicrobiomeHepatic EncephalopathyHepatitis BHepatitis B virusHumansIntestinal MucosaLiver CirrhosisMaleMiddle AgedProbioticsAmmoniaBifidobacteriumClostridiumhepatitis B virusliver cirrhosisMinimal hepatic encephalopathyprobiotics

Identifiers

PMID29806520
PMCPMC6135989
OpenAlexW2807431832

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.