Meta-analysis of probiotics for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome

Table 5 Global Improvement in IBS Symptoms in 14 probiotic/placebo treatment arms

Reference	Probiotic	Global improvement in IBS symptoms		Definition of primary outcome1
		Probiotic n/n (%)	Placebo n/n (%)
Maupas[45]	Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii lyo	13/16 (81)	13/18 (72)	Improvement of symptoms
Gade[46]	Strept faecalis	26/32 (81)	9/22 (41)	Improvement of symptoms based on physician assessment
Halpern[47]	L. acidophilus	17/18 (94)	13/18 (72)	Absence of symptoms
Nobaek[48]	L. plantarum	11/25 (44)	7/27 (26)	Decrease ≥ 1.5 on VAS symptom scale
Niedzielin[50]	L. plantarum	9/20 (45)	3/20 (15)	Absence of symptoms
Kim[51]	VSL#32	4/12 (34)	5/13 (38)	Satisfactory relief of IBS symptoms
Kajander[54]	L. rhamnosus GG + L. rham. LC705 + Bifid. breve Bb99 + Prop. freudenreichii	31/41 (76)	17/40 (43)	Symptoms alleviated based on significant reduction of symptom scores
Simren[58]	L. plantarum	10/29 (35)	11/29 (38)	Reduction ≥ 50% of total symptom score
Whorwell[35]	Bifido. infantis (dose, 106 cfu/mL)	33/74 (44)	32/76 (42)	Adequate relief of symptoms
Whorwell[35]	Bifido. infantis (dose, 108 cfu/mL)	45/72 (62)	32/76 (42)	Adequate relief of symptoms
Whorwell[35]	Bifido. infantis (dose, 1010 cfu/mL)	26/71 (37)	32/76 (42)	Adequate relief of symptoms
Enck[59]	E. coli + Strept faecalis	102/149 (68)	56/148 (38)	Reduction of ≥ 50% in total symptom score
Marteau[61]	Bifido. longum, L. acidophilus, Lactococcus lactis, Strept thermophilus	20/47 (42.6)	22/52 (42.3)	Relief of discomfort
Simren[62]	L. paracasei, L. acidophilus, Bifido. lactis in yoghurt	14/33 (42)	17/34 (50)	Reduction of ≥ 50% in total symptom score

¹Unless otherwise stated, all primary outcomes are defined based on patient report.

²VSL#3 is a mixture of 8 probiotic strains (Lactobacillus casei, L. plantarum, L. acidophilus, L. bulgaricus, Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidobacterium breve, Bifidobacterium infantis and Streptococcus thermophilus).