ReviewCureus2024
Efficacy of Probiotics in the Management of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Review in Cureus, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- 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
- Strain-Specific Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis of Probiotics Efficacy in the Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Initiating multi-strain probiotics is associated with clinically meaningful symptom relief, better quality of life, and fewer treatment escalations in IBS-D/IBS-M: a Chinese real-world propensity-matched cohort study.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- In the Mouth or in the Gut? Innovation Through Implementing Oral and Gastrointestinal Health Science in Chronic Pain Management.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Article
- Targeted probiotic therapy in irritable bowel syndrome: a clinical evaluation onFrontiers in medicine · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) significantly impacts quality of life. Probiotics offer relief by modulating gut microbiota, but variability in outcomes necessitates a systematic evaluation of their efficacy. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of probiotics in improving symptoms of IBS through a systematic review and meta-analysis. A comprehensive search of PubMed and Google Scholar identified studies published between 2014 and 2018. Inclusion criteria focused on randomized controlled trials evaluating probiotics in adult IBS patients diagnosed using standardized criteria. Statistical analysis utilized random effects models to account for heterogeneity, with subgroup analysis performed for IBS subtypes. This review included 23 studies involving 3,288 participants. Probiotics significantly reduced abdominal pain (mean difference = -1.66, 95% CI = -2.39 to -0.93, p < 0.0001) and bloating (mean difference = -2.13, 95% CI = -3.96 to -0.30, p = 0.0224). Improvement in stool habits was significant (mean difference = -1.52, 95% CI = -2.15 to -0.88, p < 0.0001), particularly in diarrhea-predominant IBS. Quality of life improved significantly, with a mean increase of 8.77 points (95% CI = 0.91 to 16.64, p = 0.028). Adverse events were mild and infrequent. However, heterogeneity was high (I² > 90%), reflecting variability in study protocols. Probiotics are effective in reducing IBS symptoms and improving quality of life, mainly in diarrhea-predominant IBS. More research should be conducted that focuses on standardized, long-term trials to refine treatment strategies.
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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.