TY - JOUR
T1 - Probiotics for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19
T2 - a rapid systematic review and meta-analysis
AU - Sohail, Aruba
AU - Cheema, Huzaifa Ahmad
AU - Mithani, Maidah Sohail
AU - Shahid, Abia
AU - Nawaz, Ahmad
AU - Hermis, Alaa Hamza
AU - Chinnam, Sampath
AU - Nashwan, Abdulqadir J.
AU - Cherrez-Ojeda, Ivan
AU - Awan, Rehmat Ullah
AU - Ahmad, Sharjeel
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2023 Sohail, Cheema, Mithani, Shahid, Nawaz, Hermis, Chinnam, Nashwan, Cherrez-Ojeda, Awan and Ahmad.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Background: Although numerous modalities are currently in use for the treatment and prophylaxis of COVID-19, probiotics are a cost-effective alternative that could be used in diverse clinical settings. Hence, we conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the role of probiotics in preventing and treating COVID-19 infection. Methods: We searched several databases from inception to 30 May 2023 for all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and comparative observational studies that evaluated probiotics (irrespective of the regimen) for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19. We conducted our meta-analysis using RevMan 5.4 with risk ratio (RR) and mean difference (MD) as the effect measures. Results: A total of 18 studies (11 RCTs and 7 observational studies) were included in our review. Probiotics reduced the risk of mortality (RR 0.40; 95% CI: 0.25–0.65, I2 = 0%). Probiotics also decreased the length of hospital stay, rate of no recovery, and time to recovery. However, probiotics had no effect on the rates of ICU admission. When used prophylactically, probiotics did not decrease the incidence of COVID-19 cases (RR 0.65; 95% CI: 0.37–1.12; I2 = 66%). The results for all outcomes were consistent across the subgroups of RCTs and observational studies (P for interaction >0.05). Conclusion: The results of this meta-analysis support the use of probiotics as an adjunct treatment for reducing the risk of mortality or improving other clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. However, probiotics are not useful as a prophylactic measure against COVID-19. Large-scale RCTs are still warranted for determining the most efficacious and safe probiotic strains. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO (CRD42023390275: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=390275).
AB - Background: Although numerous modalities are currently in use for the treatment and prophylaxis of COVID-19, probiotics are a cost-effective alternative that could be used in diverse clinical settings. Hence, we conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the role of probiotics in preventing and treating COVID-19 infection. Methods: We searched several databases from inception to 30 May 2023 for all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and comparative observational studies that evaluated probiotics (irrespective of the regimen) for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19. We conducted our meta-analysis using RevMan 5.4 with risk ratio (RR) and mean difference (MD) as the effect measures. Results: A total of 18 studies (11 RCTs and 7 observational studies) were included in our review. Probiotics reduced the risk of mortality (RR 0.40; 95% CI: 0.25–0.65, I2 = 0%). Probiotics also decreased the length of hospital stay, rate of no recovery, and time to recovery. However, probiotics had no effect on the rates of ICU admission. When used prophylactically, probiotics did not decrease the incidence of COVID-19 cases (RR 0.65; 95% CI: 0.37–1.12; I2 = 66%). The results for all outcomes were consistent across the subgroups of RCTs and observational studies (P for interaction >0.05). Conclusion: The results of this meta-analysis support the use of probiotics as an adjunct treatment for reducing the risk of mortality or improving other clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. However, probiotics are not useful as a prophylactic measure against COVID-19. Large-scale RCTs are still warranted for determining the most efficacious and safe probiotic strains. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO (CRD42023390275: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=390275).
KW - COVID-19
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - meta-analysis
KW - probiotics
KW - synbiotics
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85176581950
U2 - 10.3389/fnut.2023.1274122
DO - 10.3389/fnut.2023.1274122
M3 - Artículo de revisión
AN - SCOPUS:85176581950
SN - 2296-861X
VL - 10
JO - Frontiers in Nutrition
JF - Frontiers in Nutrition
M1 - 1274122
ER -
