Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41507975›Full record

ReviewEuropean journal of medical research2026

Efficacy of probiotic and synbiotic supplementation on the length of hospital stays and risk of postoperative mortality in patients undergoing surgery: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized clinical trials.

Kimia Mazinani, Farhang Hameed Awlqadr, Sanaz Mehrabani, Behzad Ebrahimi, Felicity MacIsaac, Seyed Mojtaba Ghoreishy, Faramarz Jalili, Mohammad Ali Hojjati Kermani, Sajjad Moradi

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in European journal of medical research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
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

9 authors.

Kimia MazinaniDepartment of Nutrition and Food Science, Maragheh University of Medical Sciences, Maragheh, Iran.
Farhang Hameed AwlqadrDepartment of Food Science and Quality Control, Halabja Technical College, Sulaimani Polytechnic University, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.
Sanaz MehrabaniIsfahan Cardiovascular Research Center, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Behzad EbrahimiDepartment of Nutrition and Food Science, Maragheh University of Medical Sciences, Maragheh, Iran.
Felicity MacIsaacFaculty of Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
Seyed Mojtaba GhoreishyDepartment of Clinical Nutrition, School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Faramarz JaliliSchool of Health Administration, Faculty of Health, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
Mohammad Ali Hojjati KermaniClinical Tuberculosis and Epidemiology Research Center, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NRITLD), Masih Daneshvari Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Sajjad MoradiDepartment of Nutrition and Food Science, Maragheh University of Medical Sciences, Maragheh, Iran. sajadmoradi9096@gmail.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThis umbrella review was conducted to assess the certainty and validity of all available meta-analyses for intervention trials regarding the impact of synbiotic and probiotic interventions in hospital and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stay durations, as well as postoperative mortality risk among patients undergoing surgery.

methodsA comprehensive systematic search was performed by applying Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library until July 20, 2025. Meta-analyses were used to evaluate the effect of synbiotic and probiotic interventions among hospital and ICU stay durations, as well as the postoperative mortality risk in patients undergoing surgery. Effect sizes of synbiotic and probiotic interventions were recalculated by using a random effects model, and the GRADE tool was used to determine evidence certainty.

resultsForty-eight clinical trials involving 6,378 participants (intervention = 3151; placebo = 3227) across thirty meta-analyses were included in this study. The findings indicated that probiotic supplementation (vs. placebo) significantly reduced the duration of hospital stay [Weighted Mean Difference (WMD): -1.00 days; 95% CI: -1.37 to -0.64; I

conclusionThe current review supports the efficacy of synbiotic and probiotic supplementation on decreasing the length of hospital stay in patients undergoing surgery. However, it is important to note that 42.3% of included systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SRMAs) were rated as 'critically low' quality using the AMSTAR2 tool, which necessitates cautious interpretation of findings.

Indexed as

Length of hospital stayMeta-analysesPostoperative mortalityProbioticSurgerySynbiotic

Identifiers

PMID41507975
PMCPMC12882427

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Registered trials

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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.