Table 4.

Trials assessing the effect of VSL#3 in patients with pouchitis

Ref.	Design	n	VSL#3 intake
Gionchetti et al[91], 2000	RCT	40 patients in clinical and endoscopic remission of pouchitis	9 mo with 6 g, 5 × 1011 viable lyophilized bacteria/g, a day
Gionchetti et al[14], 2003	RCT	40 patients undergoing IPAA for UC (including 20 with VSL#3 and 20 with placebo)	12 mo with 9 × 1011 bacteria a day
Mimura et al[90], 2004	Not clear	36 with pouchitis: 20 with VSL#3 and 16 with placebo	12 mo with 6 g a day, 3 × 1011 bacteria/g
Shen et al[93], 2005	Not mentioned	31 patients with antibiotic-dependent pouchitis	8 mo with 6 g/d
Kühbacher et al[12], 2006	RCT	15 patients with pouchitis: 10 with VSL#3 and 5 with placebo	12 mo with 6 g, 3 × 1011 viable lyophilized bacteria/g, once a day
Gionchetti et al[92], 2007	Not mentioned	23 consecutive patients with active mild pouchitis	4 wk with 3.6 × 1012 bacteria a day

RCT: Randomized controlled trial; IPAA: Ileal pouch anal anastomosis; UC: Ulcerative colitis.