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Randomized trial · measured other health measures

12-week trial in 57 people with kidney failure: probiotic eased gut symptoms

Zhou and colleagues · Scientific reports · 2024

Original title: Probiotic treatment induces changes in intestinal microbiota but does not alter SCFA levels in peritoneal dialysis patients-a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

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What the study found

Points to benefit

Probiotics changed gut bacteria mix but not diversity. Short-chain fatty acid levels did not differ between groups (P > 0.05). Gut symptoms fell, particularly dyspepsia and constipation (p < 0.05).

The study at a glance

Type of study
Randomized trial
Who or what was studied
57 people · 57 people with kidney failure on peritoneal dialysis
What was tested
Lactobacillus paracasei N1115 with fructooligosaccharide (more than 3 × 1010 CFU per bag, two bags a day) vs placebo for 12 weeks
What it measured
Several kinds of outcomes
How long
12 weeks
Trial registration
ChiCTR-INR-17011718
Who has a stake
No stake declared
No competing interests declared.
Journal
Scientific reports, 2024
Source
PubMed record 39732948. This page is based on the abstract only.

How much this study counts

  • ✓Randomized: people were put into groups by chance, so the groups start out alike.
  • ✓Compared with a placebo, a dummy treatment.
  • •Medium size: 57 people.
  • •Lasted 12 weeks.
  • •Measured several kinds of outcomes.
  • ✓No competing interests declared.
  • •Summarized from the PubMed abstract only. The full paper may hold details the abstract leaves out.

✓ Strength– Limit• Note

These points come from fixed rules about the type of study, its size and length, what it measured, and who has a stake. Every study on Digestery gets the same rules.

Where this study sits

Each dot is one on-topic paper on this question. Steps near the top answer the question more directly.

↑ Stronger evidence

  1. Trials in people: gut symptoms such as bloating and IBS

    9

    5 benefit, 2 mixed, 2 no difference

  2. Trials in people: other measures

    10

    4 benefit, 2 mixed, 4 no difference

    ↑ This study is the ringed dot

  3. Trials in people: lab tests or safety

    0

    None among the papers we read.

  4. Population studies

    0

    None among the papers we read.

  5. Blood levels and genes

    0

    None among the papers we read.

↓ Weaker evidence

  • Points to benefit
  • Mixed
  • No difference
  • No direction
  • Points to harm

How it fits with the other research

The short answer to “Do probiotics improve gut health?”

Some strains may help some symptoms.

Confidence: low. Based on 28 on-topic papers.

Read the full answer

Of the other 9 papers on the same step: 3 benefit, 2 mixed, 4 no difference. This one found benefit.

Other papers on the same step

See all 28 studies on this question

How this page was made

Label

First read of the abstract
Claude Sonnet
Independent second read
Claude Haiku
Differences settled
The reviewer corrected 1 field after reading the abstract. Claude Opus 5.5.
Headline
Claude Sonnet, from the checked study record. A script checked its numbers and wording.
Numbers
Checked against the abstract by a script
“How much this study counts”
Fixed rules, the same for every study
Source check by a person
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