Irritable bowel syndrome symptom severity improves equally with probiotic and placebo.

Aim: To determine the effects of NCFM on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms and quality of life (QoL).

Methods: In this randomized triple-blind trial, adult IBS volunteers who were recruited according to Rome III criteria received 10 or 10 colony-forming units of NCFM or placebo daily for 12 wk. IBS Symptom Severity Score (IBS-SSS), which constituted the primary outcome, and secondary outcomes, including individual IBS symptoms, IBS-related QoL questionnaire, anxiety and depression, defecation frequency, and stool consistency, were assessed at baseline at the end of the 8-wk run-in period, after 4 and 12 wk of intervention, and after a 4-wk washout.

Hysterectomy for gynaecological cancer: a follow-up study of subjective and objective outcome.

Aims: To evaluate morbidity and subjective outcome associated with hysterectomy either with or without pelvic or pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy for gynaecological cancer.

Methods: Ninety-nine patients who underwent hysterectomy with lymphadenectomy (n = 38) or simple hysterectomy (n = 61) for ovarian, endometrial and cervical cancer in Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland, were followed-up prospectively to determine the incidence of complications during a 1-year period after operation. Subjective outcomes were assessed using two questionnaires, 6 weeks and 1 year after operation.