Probiotic mixture VSL#3: An overview of basic and clinical studies in chronic diseases

Table 2 Trials assessing the effect of VSL#3 in patients with irritable bowel syndrome

Ref.	Design	n	VSL#3 intake
Bazzocchi et al[49], 2002	Open non-controlled trial	42 with diarrhea-predominant IBS	3 g (3 × 1011 cells/g), administered to each patient in the morning, in fasting conditions, for 20 d
Kim et al[50], 2003	RCT	25 with diarrhea-predominant IBS (including 13 with placebo and 12 with VSL#3)	8 wk with 4.5 × 1011 lyophilized bacteria a day
Kim et al[51], 2005	RCT	48 with IBS and significant bloating (including 24 with placebo and 24 with VSL# 3)	Twice a day (31 patients received 4 wk and 17 patients received 8 wk), the daily dose was not clear
Guandalini et al[53], 2010	RCT	59 children completed the study	6 wk with 1 sachet of VSL#3 (once a day for children 4 to 11 yr old; twice a day for those 12 to 18 yr old)
Vicari et al[60], 2014	Not clear	106 infertile male patients with CBP and IBS; 95 completed	6 to 12 mo with 4.5 × 1011 CFU a day following rifaximin
Wong et al[52], 2015	RCT	42 with IBS (including 20 with VSL#3 and 22 with placebo)	6 wk with 4 capsules (each capsule contained 1.125 × 1011 viable lyophilized bacteria) twice a day
Vicari et al[59], 2017	Not mentioned	85 patients with CP/CPPS (45 with subtype IIIa and 40 with subtype IIIb) plus diarrhea-predominant IBS and 75 patients with diarrhea-predominant IBS alone	4.5 × 1011 CFU a day following rifaximin, the number of days was not clear

IBS: Irritable bowel syndrome; CFU: Colony-forming unit; RCT: Randomized controlled trial; CBP: Chronic bacterial prostatitis; CP: Chronic prostatitis; CPPS: Chronic pelvic pain syndrome.