Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41004357›Full record

SynthesisNutrition and health2026

Effectiveness of probiotics on COVID-19 prevention and treatment against mild COVID-19 in outpatient care: A systematic review.

Chung Hang Hannah Chau, Denes Stefler, Michelle Man Sum Szeto

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Nutrition and health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

3 authors.

Chung Hang Hannah ChauInstitute of Epidemiology and Health Care, University College London, London, UK.ORCID 0009-0006-7440-9089
Denes SteflerInstitute of Epidemiology and Health Care, University College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-4482-148X
Michelle Man Sum SzetoNuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID 0009-0000-3928-9807

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BackgroundIn previous research, probiotics have shown to be beneficial in preventing and limiting the progress of upper respiratory infections. Their effectiveness in relation to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been investigated mainly in hospitalized patients, and less so among outpatients who constitute majority of COVID-19 cases.AimThis systematic review evaluates the available evidence regarding the effectiveness of probiotic use on prevention and treatment of COVID-19 among patients with mild symptoms in outpatient settings.MethodsPubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library were searched for studies from their inception to May 2024, restricting to randomized controlled trials and before-and-after studies. The primary outcomes were infection incidence and complete remission rate. Cochrane risk-of-bias tool (RoB 2.0) and risk of bias in non-randomized studies of interventions tool (ROBINS-I) were used to assess the risk of bias. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations approach was performed to assess the certainty of the evidence.ResultsEight randomized controlled trials and one pre-post study on 1235 participants were included. Four studies had low risk of bias. Probiotics were effective in reducing the incidence of COVID-19 upon exposure and accelerating the symptomatic remission of mild COVID-19 with less systemic symptoms. Overall, the certainty of evidence on both primary outcomes was moderate. Comorbidities and old ages were found to be significant confounders. Probiotics demonstrated significant immunomodulatory and humoral effects in the nasopharyngeal cavity.ConclusionThese results suggest that probiotics are effective at preventing COVID-19 and support faster recovery from mild COVID-19 among individuals seeking for outpatient care. People with comorbidities, that is, metabolic disorder and elderly benefit the most from probiotics supplements.

Indexed as

Ambulatory CareCOVID-19ProbioticsHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSARS-CoV-2Treatment OutcomebifidobacteriaCOVID-19lactobacillimicrobiomeprobioticsprophylaxis

Identifiers

PMID41004357
PMCPMC13096631

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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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 Socratic graph.