Retraction Note to: Intern Emerg Med (2010) 5 (Suppl 1):S57–S63 DOI 10.1007/s11739-010-0451-0

The article has been retracted upon request of the authors as it contains similarities with paragraphs of previously published articles: Abraham C, Cho HJ (2009) N Engl J Med 361:2066–2078, SE McGarr, JM Ridlon, PB Hylemon (2005) J Clin Gastroenterol 39(2):98–109, Barbara G (2006) Mucosal barrier defects in irritable bowel syndrome. Who left the door open? Am J Gastroenterol 101:1295–1298, Barbara G, Stanghellini V, Cremon C (2008) Probiotics and irritable bowel syndrome: rationale and clinical evidence for their use. J Clin Gastroenterol 42(suppl):S214–S217 without any proper reference to the above-mentioned articles.

The authors agree to the retraction and they apologize to Editor in Chief and readers as well as to the authors of the original articles.