Probióticos en el tratamiento de los síntomas del síndrome del intestino irritable

Introduction: Irritable bowel syndrome is a common digestive disorder in people under 50 years of age, characterized by abdominal pain, constipation and diarrhea. Objective: To analyze the effect of probiotics on the clinical symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome in adult patients. Methods: A scoping review was conducted using the database of the Virtual Library of the Universidad César Vallejo, including Scopus, PubMed, Proquest and EbscoHost, using probiotics, irritable bowel syndrome and type of study as search terms. Studies published between 2016 and June 2021 were selected; in any language, and included patients over 16 years of age with a diagnosis of IBS according to ROME III and ROME IV criteria, and included probiotic supplementation. Pregnant women and those with medication changes before or during the study were excluded. We found 4989 articles and selected 18 clinical trials. Results: The most commonly used probiotics were Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium and Bacillus coagulans, and 13 of 18 trials showed improvement in abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation or bloating in irritable bowel syndrome. The duration of treatment ranged from 4 to 16 weeks, and the dose of probiotics, administered individually or in multi-strain combinations, was found to be in the order of 10⁹ to 10¹⁰ CFU/day. Conclusion: Probiotics improve the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome in patients during their treatment.