SynthesisEuropean journal of gastroenterology & hepatology2026
Effect of multistrain probiotics on symptom severity in irritable bowel syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis of irritable bowel syndrome-symptom severity score outcomes.
Synthesis in European journal of gastroenterology & hepatology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea: time to change practice?Current opinion in gastroenterology · 2026Review
- Strain-Specific Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis of Probiotics Efficacy in the Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common gastrointestinal disorder with varying symptom severity. Although probiotics are frequently used for IBS management, the effects of multistrain probiotic interventions on IBS symptom severity, as measured by the IBS symptom severity score (IBS-SSS), remain unclear. This systematic review, conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines, compared multistrain probiotics with placebo in patients with IBS, focusing on IBS-SSS outcomes. Risk of bias was assessed using the Risk of Bias 2.0 tool, and meta-analysis was performed with Review Manager 5.4.1. From the 1858 screened records, 12 studies involving 1303 participants were included. Multistrain probiotics significantly reduced total IBS-SSS scores [mean difference = -43.66, 95% confidence interval (CI): -65.89 to -21.44, P = 0.0001, I ² = 99%]. Significant improvements were also found in IBS-SSS subscores, including number of days with pain (mean difference = -7.38, 95% CI: -11.86 to -2.89, P = 0.001, I ² = 100%), bloating (-5.62, 95% CI: -10.76 to -0.48, P = 0.03, I ² = 100%), bowel habit satisfaction (-11.90, 95% CI: -19.21 to -4.59, P = 0.001, I ² = 99%), and quality of life (QoL) (-11.99, 95% CI: -16.3 to -7.60, P < 0.00001, I ² = 91%); however, changes in abdominal pain scores and IBS-specific QoL were not statistically significant. High heterogeneity prompted sensitivity analyses to identify contributing factors. Overall, multistrain probiotics significantly reduced IBS-SSS and its subscores but did not significantly improve QoL compared with placebo.
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