Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41980747›Full record

ArticleEwha medical journal2026

Clinical guidance and practical recommendations for probiotic use in patients with irritable bowel syndrome, functional constipation, and Clostridioides difficile infection considering sex-based differences: a Korean translation.

Yong Sung Kim, Seon-Young Park, Seung Joo Kang, Min Woo Lee, Yonghoon Choi, Byung Yong Kim, Miyoung Choi, Cheol Min Shin, Young Sun Kim, Nayoung Kim and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Ewha medical journal, 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

11 authors.

Yong Sung KimDigestive Disease Research Institute, Wonkwang University School of Medicine, Iksan, Korea.
Seon-Young ParkDepartment of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea.
Seung Joo KangDepartment of Internal Medicine, Healthcare System Gangnam Center, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Min Woo LeeDepartment of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Yonghoon ChoiDepartment of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
Byung Yong KimDepartment of Food Science and Biotechnology, Konyang University, Nonsan, Korea.
Miyoung ChoiDivision of Healthcare Research, National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency, Seoul, Korea.
Cheol Min ShinDepartment of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
Young Sun KimDepartment of Internal Medicine, Healthcare System Gangnam Center, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Nayoung KimDepartment of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Moo In ParkDepartment of Internal Medicine, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.

Funding

Korea National Institute of Health 2025-ER1104-00
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Probiotics have gained increasing clinical attention as adjunctive treatment for lower gastrointestinal disorders. However, evidence supporting their therapeutic efficacy remains limited, particularly with regard to sex-related differences. This expert review provides evidence-based insights and practical recommendations for the use of probiotics in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), functional constipation (FC), and Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), considering possible sex-related differences. Evidence from randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses indicates that probiotics can modestly improve global symptoms, abdominal pain, and bloating in IBS and enhance bowel movement frequency and stool consistency in FC. However, these effects are strain-specific and heterogeneous. Although clinical studies on probiotics in IBS have not confirmed significant sex-related differences, experimental animal studies using stress-induced IBS models have demonstrated sex-dependent responses to specific probiotic strains, supporting the biological plausibility of such differences. For CDI, the efficacy of probiotics in preventing primary or recurrent infections remains inconsistent across large trials, and current guidelines usually do not recommend their routine use. However, sex and age difference of immunology supports the clinical differences of CDI. Probiotics are generally considered safe for healthy individuals, although caution is advised in patients who are immunocompromised or critically ill. Clinicians should select probiotic products based on strain-specific clinical evidence, adequate viable doses, patient's characteristics, or patient's sex. In conclusion, probiotics might play a role as adjunctive therapy for IBS and FC, with variability in responses influenced by microbial, host, and potential sex-related factors. Further research is needed to establish optimized personalized probiotic strategies.

Indexed as

Clostridioides difficileConstipationIrritable bowel syndromeProbioticsSex

Identifiers

PMID41980747
PMCPMC13149953

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.