SynthesisBMC gastroenterology2025
The effectiveness of treatment with probiotics in preventing necrotizing enterocolitis and related mortality: results from an umbrella meta-analysis on meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in BMC gastroenterology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Ecology of protection: probiotic biogeography and sepsis prevention in the neonatal intestine.mBio · 2026Article
- Probiotics and Risk of Death, Necrotizing Enterocolitis, and Sepsis in Very Preterm Infants.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Human milk microbiome as a modulator of the early-life gut-brain axis: mechanisms and translational opportunities for neurodevelopment.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Review
- PROTECT-Preterm: emulating target trials of dynamic probiotic strategies for necrotising enterocolitis, late-onset sepsis and mortality in very preterm infants - a study protocol.BMJ paediatrics open · 2026Article
- Routine probiotics and outcomes in infants < 29 weeks: a 13-year single-centre cohort with propensity-weighted sensitivity analyses.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Article
- AI-2 combined with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG remodels gut microbiota structure to alleviate intestinal oxidative stress injury in a mouse necrotizing enterocolitis model.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- Global perspectives on probiotic use to reduce NEC.Pediatric research · 2026Article
- Evaluating the effect of probiotics on severe necrotising enterocolitis in preterm infants born before 32 weeks gestation in England and Wales: a propensity-matched population study.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2026Article
- Lactobacilli biology, applications and host interactions.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026Review
- Mechanisms by which tryptophan metabolites enhance intestinal barrier function to prevent necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Preterm Infants: An Inflammatory Condition at the Crossroads of Intestinal Immaturity, Dysbiosis, and Nutrition.International journal of pediatrics · 2026Review
- Review: microbial metabolites - a key to address gut inflammation and barrier dysfunction in the premature infant.Gut microbes · 2025Review
- Probiotics in the fight against necrotizing enterocolitis: a cost-effective yet underutilized strategy in neonatal care.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2025Article
- Necrotizing Enterocolitis: What's New and What's Next?International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Probiotic biogeography and sepsis prevention in the neonatal intestine.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- The influence of the maternal microbiome on offspring neurodevelopment: a critical review of associations, controversies, and challenges.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Review
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionProbiotic supplementation has been proposed as a preventive measure for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in preterm infants. This umbrella meta-analysis assesses the effects of probiotics, including single-strain and multi-strain formulations, on NEC and related mortality.
methodsA comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, and Embase for studies up to August 2024. The AMSTAR2 tool assessed the quality of included studies. Meta-analysis studies were selected based on the PICOS framework, focusing on preterm neonates (< 37-week gestation), probiotic supplementation (single-strain or multi-strain), placebo or standard care comparison, and outcomes of NEC and mortality. Pooled relative risks (RR) and odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using random-effects models.
resultsOverall, 35 eligible studies were included into the study. Twenty-six and 32 probiotic intervention arms used single- and multi-strain probiotics, respectively. The findings revealed that probiotics decreased NEC significantly (ES
conclusionThe present review suggests that supplementation with probiotics reduced NEC and related mortality. Probiotic supplementation can be recognized as a NEC-preventing approach in preterm and very preterm infants, particularly Multi-strain probiotics.
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.