SynthesisNeurogastroenterology and motility2018
Systematic review and meta-analysis: Efficacy of patented probiotic, VSL#3, in irritable bowel syndrome.
Synthesis in Neurogastroenterology and motility, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 3 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Probiotics are beneficial for liver cirrhosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized control trials.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- AGA Technical Review on the Role of Probiotics in the Management of Gastrointestinal Disorders.Gastroenterology · 2020Guideline
- Effects of short-chain fatty acid-producing probiotic metabolites on symptom relief and intestinal barrier function in patients with irritable bowel syndrome: a double-blind, randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Trial
- Probiotics in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: An Umbrella Review of 27 Systematic Reviews on Methodological Quality and Certainty of Evidence.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Global landscape analysis of clinical trials on gut microbiota modulation therapies for irritable bowel syndrome.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Bi-Directional Relationship Between Bile Acids (BAs) and Gut Microbiota (GM): UDCA/TUDCA, Probiotics, and Dietary Interventions in Elderly People.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 promote infected wound healing via regulation of the wound microenvironment.Microbial biotechnology · 2024Article
- The Gut Microbiota and Chronic Pain.Current pain and headache reports · 2024Review
- Changes in the gut microbiota composition of healthy young volunteers after administration ofFrontiers in nutrition · 2023Article
- Article
- Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial to Assess the Effect of Probiotics on Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Veterans With Gulf War Illness.Federal practitioner : for the health care professionals of the VA, DoD, and PHS · 2022Article
- Article
- Current Treatment Options and Therapeutic Insights for Gastrointestinal Dysmotility and Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Review
- The Probiotic VSL#3Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Use of probiotics in clinical practice with special reference to diarrheal diseases: A position statement of the Malaysian Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.JGH open : an open access journal of gastroenterology and hepatology · 2021Review
- The Evolving Role of Gut Microbiota in the Management of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: An Overview of the Current Knowledge.Journal of clinical medicine · 2020Review
- Refers to: Paul Enck. Not more, but less studies are warranted-If you take your meta-analysis seriously.Neurogastroenterology and motility · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundVSL#3 is a patented probiotic for which several clinical trials suggest benefits on motor function, bloating, and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
objectivesTo quantify effects of VSL#3 on abdominal pain, stool consistency, overall response, abdominal bloating, and quality of life (QOL) in IBS through meta-analysis.
methodsMEDLINE (OvidSP and PubMed), EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched up to May 2017. Using a fixed effects model, we pooled data from intention-to-treat analyses of randomized trials (RCTs) comparing VSL#3 to placebo in IBS. Data were reported as relative risk (RR), overall mean difference (MD), or standardized MD (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Quality of evidence was rated using the GRADE approach. KEY
resultsAmong 236 citations, 5 RCTs (243 patients) were included. No significant differences were observed for abdominal pain (SMD = -0.03; 95% CI -0.29 to 0.22), bloating (SMD = -0.15; 95% CI -0.40 to 0.11), proportion of bowel movements with normal consistency (overall MD = 0; 95% CI -0.09 to 0.08), or IBS-QOL (SMD = 0.08; 95% CI -0.22 to 0.39). VSL#3 was associated with a nearly statistically significant increase in overall response (RR = 1.39; 95% CI 0.99-1.98). CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, there was a trend toward improvement in overall response with VSL#3, but no clear evidence effectiveness for IBS. However, the number and sample sizes of the trials are small and the overall quality of evidence for 3 of the 5 outcomes was low. Larger trials evaluating validated endpoints in well-defined IBS patients are warranted.
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.