scholarly journals Fecal Microbiota Transplantation: Redefining Surgical Management of Refractory Clostridium difficile Infection

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (02) ◽  
pp. 092-097 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yao-Wen Cheng ◽  
Monika Fischer

AbstractFecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is the process of transplanting stool from a healthy donor into the gut of a diseased individual for therapeutic purposes. It has a clearly defined role in the treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile (reclassified as “Clostridioides difficile”) infection (CDI), with cure rates over 90% and decreased rates of subsequent recurrence compared with anti-CDI antibiotics. There is emerging evidence that FMT is also effective in the treatment of severe and fulminant CDI, with associated decreases in mortality and colectomy rates compared with standard antibiotic therapy. FMT shows promise as salvage therapy for critically-ill CDI patients refractory to maximum medical therapy and not deemed to be surgical candidates. FMT should be considered early in the course of severe CDI and should be delivered immediately in patients with signs of refractory CDI. Expansion of FMT's use along the spectrum of CDI severity has potential to decrease associated rates of mortality and colectomy.

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (01) ◽  
pp. 016-020
Author(s):  
Juliana Peloso Signorette ◽  
Rômulo Tadeu Dias de Oliveira ◽  
José Maria Montiel ◽  
Priscila Larcher Longo

Abstract Objective This study aimed to perform a comprehensive review of clinical trials using fecal microbiota transplantation in cases of Clostridioides difficile infection. Methods This manuscript reviews clinical studies published from 2003 to 2020 at the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO Brazil), Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS) and US National Library of Medicine (MedLine/PubMed) databases using the descriptors antibiotic/antimicrobial, Clostridium difficile/Clostridioides difficile, intestinal microbiota/intestinal microbiome and fecal transplantation. Results Interventions on microbiota include the use of probiotics, prebiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation as therapeutic methods. Results show that fecal microbiota transplantation is an excellent alternative for the treatment of recurrent C. difficile infections.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 389
Author(s):  
Eleftheria Kampouri ◽  
Antony Croxatto ◽  
Guy Prod’hom ◽  
Benoit Guery

Clostridioides difficile is an increasingly common pathogen both within and outside the hospital and is responsible for a large clinical spectrum from asymptomatic carriage to complicated infection associated with a high mortality. While diagnostic methods have considerably progressed over the years, the optimal diagnostic algorithm is still debated and there is no single diagnostic test that can be used as a standalone test. More importantly, the heterogeneity in diagnostic practices between centers along with the lack of robust surveillance systems in all countries and an important degree of underdiagnosis due to lack of clinical suspicion in the community, hinder a more accurate evaluation of the burden of disease. Our improved understanding of the physiopathology of CDI has allowed some significant progress in the treatment of CDI, including a broader use of fidaxomicine, the use of fecal microbiota transplantation for multiples recurrences and newer approaches including antibodies, vaccines and new molecules, already developed or in the pipeline. However, the management of CDI recurrences and severe infections remain challenging and the main question remains: how to best target these often expensive treatments to the right population. In this review we discuss current diagnostic approaches, treatment and potential prevention strategies, with a special focus on recent advances in the field as well as areas of uncertainty and unmet needs and how to address them.


mBio ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Staley ◽  
Colleen R. Kelly ◽  
Lawrence J. Brandt ◽  
Alexander Khoruts ◽  
Michael J. Sadowsky

ABSTRACT Bacterial communities from subjects treated for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (rCDI) by fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), using either heterologous donor stool samples or autologous stool samples, were characterized by Illumina next-generation sequencing. As previously reported, the success of heterologous FMT (90%) was superior to that of autologous FMT (43%) ( P = 0.019), and post-FMT intestinal bacterial communities differed significantly between treatment arms ( P < 0.001). Subjects cured by autologous FMT typically had greater abundances of the Clostridium XIVa clade and Holdemania bacteria prior to treatment, and the relative abundances of these groups increased significantly after FMT compared to heterologous FMT and pre-FMT samples. The typical shift to post-FMT, donor-like assemblages, featuring high relative abundances of genera within the Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes phyla, was not observed in the autologous FMT subjects. Autologous FMT patient bacterial communities were significantly different in composition than those for heterologous FMT patients and donors ( P < 0.001). The SourceTracker program, which employs a Bayesian algorithm to determine source contributions to sink communities, showed that patients initially treated by heterologous FMT had significantly higher percentages of engraftment (i.e., similarity to donor communities, mean value of 74%) compared to those who suffered recurrence following autologous FMT (1%) ( P ≤ 0.013). The findings of this study suggest that complete donor engraftment may be not necessary if functionally critical taxa are present in subjects following antibiotic therapy. IMPORTANCE This study provides a detailed characterization of fecal bacterial communities in subjects who participated in a previously published randomized clinical trial to treat recurrent C. difficile infection (rCDI). Bacterial communities were characterized to determine differences between subjects who received fecal bacteria either from healthy donor stool samples or their own stool samples as “placebo” in order to determine which groups of bacteria were most important in achieving a cure. The results of this study suggested that bacteria associated with secondary bile acid metabolism could potentially provide resistance to infection and that complete transfer of healthy donor microorganisms was not necessary to resolve CDI following unsuccessful antibiotic treatment.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ning-Jiun Jan ◽  
Noah Oakland ◽  
Pankaj Kumar ◽  
Girija Ramakrishnan ◽  
Brian W. Behm ◽  
...  

Background: Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is the most common hospital-acquired infection in the United States. Antibiotic-induced dysbiosis is the primary cause of susceptibility and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has emerged as an effective therapy for recurrence. We previously demonstrated in the mouse model of CDI that antibiotic-induced dysbiosis reduced colonic expression of IL-25, and that FMT protected in part by restoring gut commensal bacteria-mediated IL-25 signaling. Here we conducted a prospective clinical trial to test the impact of FMT on immunity, specifically testing in humans if FMT induced IL-25 expression in the colon. Methods: Subjects received colonic biopsies and blood sampling at the time of FMT and 60-days later. Colon biopsies were assayed for IL-25 by immunoassay, for mRNA by RNAseq, and for bacterial content by 16 S rDNA sequencing. High dimensional flow cytometry was also conducted on peripheral blood mononuclear cells pre- and post-FMT. Results: All 10 subjects who received FMT had no CDI recurrences over a 2 year follow-up post FMT. FMT increased alpha diversity of the colonic microbiota and was associated with several immunologic changes. The cytokine IL-25 was increased in colonic tissue. In addition, increased expression of homeostatic genes and repression of inflammatory genes was observed in colonic mRNA transcripts. Finally, circulating Th17 cells were decreased post-FMT. Conclusion: The increase in the cytokine IL-25 accompanied by decreased inflammation is consistent with FMT acting in part to protect from recurrent CDI via restoration of commensal activation of type 2 immunity.


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