Evidence mapPaperPMID 42490892Full record

ArticleFrontiers in nutrition2026

Functional fatty acid-based dietary therapy as a new strategy for small gallstone expulsion: study protocol for a prospective, single-center, double-blind, randomized controlled trial.

Long Deng, Han Xu, Bodong Zhang, Kecheng Jin, Ping Yue, Yanyan Lin, Peilun Peng, Emmanuel Melloul, Jinqiu Yuan, Wenbo Meng

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in nutrition, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06699030 (A New Strategy for Gallstone Expulsion Through Dietary Therapy), which is not on this 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.

NCT06699030 narecruitingnot on this map

A New Strategy for Gallstone Expulsion Through Dietary Therapy: A Prospective, Single-Center, Double-Blind, Randomized Controlled Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorHepatopancreatobiliary Surgery Institute of Gansu ProvinceRan2024 to 2026Enrolled100ConditionsGallbladder StoneArmsFunctional fatty acids, Placebo
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

10 authors.

Long DengThe First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Han XuCardiology Department, Gansu Provincial Central Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Bodong ZhangLanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Kecheng JinLanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Ping YueThe First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Yanyan LinThe First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Peilun PengLanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Emmanuel MelloulUniversity Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Jinqiu YuanClinical Medical Research Center, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Wenbo MengThe First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Gallstone disease is a major global health concern with a steadily increasing prevalence, affecting approximately 7% of the global population and imposing substantial health and economic burdens. Globally, gallstone disease accounts for 10-15% of all gastrointestinal hospital admissions, with annual direct medical costs exceeding $6 billion in the United States and ¥20 billion in China, primarily driven by cholecystectomy and post-surgical complications. According to clinical observations, oral administration of olive oil may facilitate the expulsion of small gallstones; however, high-quality evidence supporting this dietary therapy remains limited. In our preliminary study, a 6-day regimen of orally administered functional fatty acids effectively promoted the elimination of small gallstones. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral functional fatty acid supplementation for facilitating the expulsion of small gallbladder stones, and to assess its potential as a noninvasive therapeutic option. The primary endpoint is the complete expulsion rate of small gallbladder stones at day 3 post-intervention, confirmed by two independent blinded ultrasound technologists. The complete expulsion rate at day 6 post-intervention is designated as a key secondary endpoint. Methods: This prospective, single-center, double-blind, randomized controlled trial will enroll 100 adult patients with ultrasonographically confirmed small gallstones (maximum diameter <2 mm) and no prior treatment history. Participants will be randomly assigned at a 1:1 ratio to either the intervention group ( Discussion: If proven effective, this intervention could provide a noninvasive alternative to surgery for patients with small gallstones, inform clinical practice, and help reduce the healthcare burden associated with gallstone disease. Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT06699030.

Indexed as

cholelithiasisdietary interventionfunctional fatty acidsrandomized controlled trialsmall gallstonesstudy protocol

Identifiers

PMID42490892
PMCPMC13375476

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

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.