Probiotics and synbiotics were linked to shorter surgical hospital stays
A review found shorter stays, while postoperative mortality showed no statistically significant change.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
This review of existing meta-analyses found shorter hospital stays with probiotic or synbiotic supplementation in surgical patients. Neither approach showed a statistically significant change in postoperative mortality, and synbiotics showed no clear change in intensive care stay. The findings do not establish a survival benefit or identify which supplement strategy is better.
Many included reviews were rated critically low in quality, and the abstract does not specify supplement formulations, timing or safety outcomes.
What researchers found
Hospital length of stay
Probiotics versus placebo during the surgical hospital stay; weighted mean difference, with moderate certainty.
What the review combined
Researchers reanalyzed trial results summarized in earlier reviews and rated the certainty of the evidence. The hospital-stay findings were judged moderately certain, while results varied substantially across the contributing studies.
Different outcomes need separate conclusions
Length of hospital stay, intensive care stay and postoperative death are separate outcomes. A favorable result for time in hospital cannot establish benefit for the other outcomes or for people outside surgical care.
The original publication
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.
Mazinani K, Awlqadr FH, Mehrabani S et al.
Eur J Med Res · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41507975
- Record checked
AI-assisted research and writing. This explains one selected publication; it is not a complete review of everything known. Our approach.
One more question, understood.
Keep track of the research you’ve explored.