Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31996911›Full record

SynthesisAdvances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.)2020

Preventing Respiratory Tract Infections by Synbiotic Interventions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Carty K Y Chan, Jun Tao, Olivia S Chan, Hua-Bin Li, Herbert Pang

Open access · greenAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
44citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
4.5field-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

44 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 89 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

5 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.

Carty K Y ChanSchool of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Jun TaoSchool of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Olivia S ChanSchool of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Hua-Bin LiGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition, and Health, Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Herbert PangSchool of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Sun Yat-sen University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Dysbiosis of the human gut microbiome has been linked to various health conditions, including respiratory tract infections (RTIs) through the gut-lung axis. Several trials have reported that synbiotic therapy could help prevent RTIs or relieve symptoms of some diseases. This meta-analysis comprehensively evaluates the clinical effects of synbiotic supplements for preventing RTIs. PubMed and Google Scholar were searched by keywords for eligible clinical trials until April 2019. Sixty-two studies were retrieved, and 16 studies were selected for meta-analysis. The primary outcomes were defined as the proportion of participants with RTIs at least once or the times of RTI episodes during follow-up based on the intention-to-treat approach. Overall, synbiotic interventions reduced the incidence rate of RTIs by 16% (95% CI: 4%, 27%) and the proportion of participants experiencing RTIs by 16% (95% CI: 5%, 26%). There was no significant evidence of publication bias. A subgroup analysis suggested more prominent effects of synbiotics among adults than infants and children for RTI prevention. The sensitivity analysis excluding trials with prebiotics or probiotics as controls was consistent with our primary analysis. This meta-analysis of clinical trials involving >10,000 individuals showed that synbiotic interventions could be an alternative nutrition strategy for conferring human health and preventing RTIs. Future investigations on the clinical efficacy and safety of synbiotic interventions are warranted with strain-specific and dose-specific approaches.

Indexed as

ProbioticsRespiratory Tract InfectionsSynbioticsAdultChildHumansInfantPrebioticsRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicPrebioticsmeta-analysisprebioticsprobioticsRCTrespiratory tract infectionssynbiotics

Identifiers

PMID31996911
PMCPMC7360463
OpenAlexW3004272373

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.