Perioperative probiotics and bone healing in tibial shaft fracture: a randomized controlled trial
A double-blind RCT assessed whether perioperative Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG plus Bifidobacterium longum affects CT-measured callus bone volume fraction at 12 weeks after tibial shaft fracture surgery.
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What the study showed
The trial evaluated CT-derived BV/TV as the primary outcome of callus mineralization at 12 weeks post-surgery. Secondary endpoints included time to full weight bearing without assistive devices, VAS rest-pain scores, and RUST scores. Quantitative results are not disclosed in the abstract, precluding assessment of direction or magnitude of effect.
How it was done
Single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial enrolling 84 patients with closed tibial shaft fractures. Probiotic or placebo was administered perioperatively through postoperative week 6; primary analysis used ANCOVA adjusted for key clinical covariates.
Risk of bias
Single-center design and small sample (n=84) limit generalizability. Absence of numerical results in the abstract prevents evaluation of effect size, confidence intervals, or statistical significance.
What this study does NOT prove
The abstract does not allow the conclusion that probiotics accelerate or improve bone healing in humans.
In clinical practice
No clinical recommendation can be derived without access to the results. The gut-bone axis hypothesis is biologically plausible but unconfirmed by this abstract alone.
Limitations
Single-center design and small sample (n=84) limit generalizability. Absence of numerical results in the abstract prevents evaluation of effect size, confidence intervals, or statistical significance.
Technical appendix
Version history
- 1.0 · 2026-09-09 — Auto-generated under Evidence Standard v1.0
Paid access: structured summary from public metadata; consult the original study at the source.