SynthesisMedicine2019
A meta-analysis of the effects of probiotics and synbiotics in children with acute diarrhea.
Synthesis in Medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 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
25 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- Probiotics for pediatric diarrhea and constipation: an umbrella meta-analysis.BMC pediatrics · 2025Pooled it
- The effect of probiotics on the diarrhea and constipation outcomes in children: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Orally Ingested Probiotic, Prebiotic, and Synbiotic Interventions as Countermeasures for Gastrointestinal Tract Infections in Nonelderly Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2023Pooled it
- Gut microbiome dynamics in acute infectious diarrhea: A conceptual framework from acute dysbiosis toward precision restoration (Review).Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2026Review
- Review
- Development and Psychometric Properties of the Diarrhea Management Scale for Mothers (DiMaM).Maternal and child health journal · 2025Article
- A Review of the Influence of Prebiotics, Probiotics, Synbiotics, and Postbiotics on the Human Gut Microbiome and Intestinal Integrity.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- The Interplay Between Nutrition and Microbiota and the Role of Probiotics and Symbiotics in Pediatric Infectious Diseases.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Probiotics for treating acute diarrhea in children: an evidence synthesis.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Review
- Prebiotics and Probiotics for Gastrointestinal Disorders.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics in childhood diarrhea.Brazilian journal of medical and biological research = Revista brasileira de pesquisas medicas e biologica · 2024Review
- Environmental and genetic associations with aberrant early-life gut microbial maturation in childhood asthma.The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology · 2023Article
- Synbiotics as Supplemental Therapy for the Alleviation of Chemotherapy-Associated Symptoms in Patients with Solid Tumours.Nutrients · 2023Review
- Pathogen-Specific Benefits of Probiotic and Synbiotic Use in Childhood Acute Gastroenteritis: An Updated Review of the Literature.Nutrients · 2023Review
- ProbioticFrontiers in pediatrics · 2023Article
- Acute gastroenteritis-changes to the recommended original oral rehydrating salts: a review.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2023Review
- Nutrition, Immunosenescence, and Infectious Disease: An Overview of the Scientific Evidence on Micronutrients and on Modulation of the Gut Microbiota.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2022Review
- Targeted Delivery of Probiotics: Perspectives on Research and Commercialization.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2022Review
- Gut microbiome alterations in ICU patients with enteral nutrition-related diarrhea.Frontiers in microbiology · 2022Article
- Efficacy of probiotics in the treatment of acute diarrhea in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials.Translational pediatrics · 2021Article
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 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThis meta-analysis assessed the effectiveness of probiotics and synbiotics for acute diarrhea (AD) in children and investigated probiotic formulations, types of interventions, and country factors.
methodsRandomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials evaluating the effects of probiotics or synbiotics on AD were analyzed. We followed the recommendations of the Cochrane Handbook and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement. The risks of systematic errors (bias) and random errors were assessed, and the overall quality of the evidence was evaluated using the Grades of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.
resultsThe meta-analysis included 34 studies with 4911 patients. Five and 29 studies presented the results of synbiotic and probiotic interventions, respectively. After intervention, the durations of diarrhea (weighted mean difference (WMD) = -16.63 [-20.16; -12.51]) and hospitalization (risk ratio (RR) = 0.59 [0.48; 0.73]) were shorter, the stool frequency on day 3 (WMD = -0.98 [-1.55; -0.40]) was decreased, and the incidence of diarrhea lasting 3 days was lower in the probiotic and synbiotic groups than in the control groups. Furthermore, in the subgroup analyses, synbiotics were more effective than probiotics at reducing the durations of diarrhea and hospitalization, and Saccharomyces and Bifidobacterium were more effective than Lactobacillus at reducing the duration of diarrhea.
conclusionThis meta-analysis supports the potential beneficial roles of probiotics and synbiotics for AD in children. Further research is needed to determine problems associated with probiotic/synbiotic mixtures and appropriate dosages.
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.