Systematic review of randomised controlled trials: Probiotics for functional constipation

Table 1 Characteristics of included trials

Study ID	Probiotic	Design	Allocation concealment/Blinding/Intention-to-treat analysis/Description of withdrawals or dropouts	Exp/cont (age, yr)	Definition of constipation	Duration of intervention	Intervention (daily dose)	Placebo
Studies in adults
Mollenbrink et al[13] 1994 (Germany)	E. coli Nissle 1917	RCT, crossover	Unclear/Yes/No/Yes	35/35 (18-60)	< 2 BM per week	4 + 4 wk	25 × 109 CFU	Placebo
Koebnick et al[12] 2003 (Germany)	L. casei Shirota	RCT, parallel	Unclear/Yes/Yes/Yes	35/35 (18-70)	Not provided	4 wk	6.5 × 109 CFU, probiotic beverage	Placebo
Yang et al[14] 2008 (China)	B. lactis DN-173 010	RCT, parallel	Unclear/No/Yes/Yes	63/63 (25-65, only women)	< 3 BM per week; increased stool hardness; non-organic constipation and habitual constipation	2 wk	Fermented milk containing 1.25 × 1010 CFU of probiotic plus yoghurt strains	Placebo (acidified milk without any ferments or probiotics)
Studies in children
Banaszkiewicz et al[17] 2005 (Poland)	L. rhamnosus GG	RCT, parallel (computer-generated randomisation list)	Yes/Yes/Yes/Yes	43/41 (2-16)	< 3 BM per week during 14 days for at least 12 wk	12 wk	Lactulose plus LGG 2 × 109 CFU	Lactulose plus placebo
Bu et al[16] 2007 (Taiwan)	L. casei rhamnosus Lcr35	RCT, parallel (computer-generated randomisation list)	Yes/Yes/Yes/Yes	18/9 (< 10)	< 3 BM per week for > 2 mo plus at least one of the criteria: anal fissures with bleeding due to constipation, faecal soiling, or passage of large and hard stool	4 wk	8 × 108 CFU	Placebo (starch)

RCT: Randomised controlled trials; CFU: Colony-forming units; BM: Bowel movements.