Table 1.

Eligibility criteria for inclusion of publications examining probiotics in the management of lower GI symptoms

	Inclusion criteria	Exclusion criteria
Population	Adults (≥18 y old) Patients with IBS or other FGID Patients with diarrhoea as a side effect of antibiotic treatment Patients with no specific GI diagnosis	Children Disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease and diverticular disease Specialist populations (eg patients with any type of cancer)
Interventions	Probiotics	Synbiotics Sterile preparations
Outcomes	IBS (global symptoms) Abdominal pain Bloating/distension Flatus Diarrhoea (treatment) Diarrhoea (prevention) Constipation Bowel habit Health‐related quality of life Adverse events	No symptom scores or clearly defined response rates for specific symptoms Symptom clusters not reported as pre‐specified primary or secondary endpoints
Study design	RCTs Placebo‐controlled trials Studies with a clear sample size calculation	Meta‐analysis Systematic review Studies lasting <4 wks with <80% follow‐up Pooled data analyses
Date restrictions	January 2012‐June 2017
Language restrictions	English language and foreign language publications with an English abstract
Country	Not restricted by country

FGID, functional gastrointestinal disorders; GI, gastrointestinal; IBS, irritable bowel syndrome; RCT, randomised controlled trial.