Faecal Microbiota Transplantation in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Current Concepts and Future Challenges

Dysbiosis has been repeatedly observed in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and is now recognized as an essential factor in the gut inflammatory process. IBD is a significant burden to health-care systems, mainly due to treatment-related costs. Available treatments have several limitations: up to 30% of patients are primary non-responders, and between 10 and 20% lose response per year, requiring a dose-escalation or a switch to another biologic. Hence, the current IBD treatment is not sufficient, and there is an urgent need to introduce new therapies in the management of these patients. Recently, the correction of dysbiosis has become an attractive approach from a therapeutic point of view. Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) appears as a reliable and potentially beneficial therapy in IBD patients. There is developing data that FMT for mild-to-moderately active UC is a safe and efficient therapy for the induction of remission. However, the current studies have different designs and have a short follow up, which makes clinical interpretation significantly difficult. There is a need for RCTs with a well-defined study cohort using FMT for the therapy of CD patients. The location, behavior, and severity of the disease should be taken into account. The goal of this manuscript is to review the data currently available on FMT and IBD, to explain FMT principles and methodology in IBD patients and to discuss some unresolved issues.

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Worldwide Management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An International Survey

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ◽

10.1093/ibd/izaa202 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Charles N Bernstein ◽

Siew C Ng ◽

Rupa Banerjee ◽

Flavio Steinwurz ◽

Bo Shen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Inflammatory Bowel Disease ◽

Bowel Disease ◽

Task Force ◽

Health Care Systems ◽

Underlying Disease ◽

Virus Spread ◽

The World ◽

Management Guidance ◽

Care Systems ◽

Inflammatory Bowel

Abstract Background and Aims Persons with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 either because of their underlying disease or its management. Guidance has been presented on the management of persons with IBD in the time of this pandemic by different groups. We aimed to determine how gastroenterologists around the world were approaching the management of IBD. Methods Members of the World Gastroenterology Organization (WGO) IBD Task Force contacted colleagues in countries largely beyond North America and Europe, inviting them to review the WGO website for IBD and COVID-19 introduction, with links to guideline documents, and then to respond to 9 ancillary open-ended management questions. Results Fifty-two gastroenterologists from 33 countries across 6 continents completed the survey (April 14 to May 16, 2020). They were all adhering for the most part to published guidelines on IBD management in the COVID-19 era. Some differences and reductions in services related to access, and some related to approach within their communities in terms of limiting virus spread. In particular, most gastroenterologists reduced in-person clinics (43 of 52), limited steroid use (47 of 51), limited elective endoscopy (45 of 52), and limited elective surgeries (48 of 51). If a patient was diagnosed with COVID-19, immunomodulatory therapy was mostly held. Conclusions In most countries, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered the approach to persons with IBD. The few exceptions were mostly based on low burden of COVID-19 in individual communities. Regardless of resources or health care systems, gastroenterologists around the world took a similar approach to the management of IBD.

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P328 Faecal microbiota transplantation as treatment for recurrent Clostridiodes difficile infection in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: Experiences of the Netherlands donor faeces bank

Journal of Crohn s and Colitis ◽

10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjz203.457 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S317-S318

Author(s):

E Van Lingen ◽

A E van der Meulen-de Jong ◽

K E W Vendrik ◽

E J Kuijper ◽

E M Terveer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ulcerative Colitis ◽

Inflammatory Bowel Disease ◽

The Netherlands ◽

Bowel Disease ◽

Working Group ◽

Indeterminate Colitis ◽

Cure Rate ◽

Faecal Microbiota ◽

Faecal Microbiota Transplantation ◽

Inflammatory Bowel

Abstract Background In recent years Faecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) is effectively implemented as an approved treatment approach of refractory Clostridiodes difficile infection (rCDI). In patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) the prevalence of co-infection with CDI is higher than in the general population due to the use of immunosuppressive medication and dysbiosis of the bacteria in the colon. Just a small percentage of IBD patients do have an active CDI infection, not to be confused with carriership. Here we report the treatment course and efficacy of FMT provided by the Netherlands Donor Faeces Bank (NDFB) for IBD patients with rCDI. Methods The NDFB was founded to facilitate FMT by providing ready to use donor faeces suspensions for treatment of patients with rCDI in hospitals throughout The Netherlands. A request for FMT is evaluated by the working group (specialists in the fields of Medical Microbiology, Gastroenterology, and Infectious Diseases) to assess the indication of FMT and to formulate a treatment advice for each individual patient taking the comorbidity into account. Prior to FMT, all patients were pre-treated with vancomycin 250 mg for at least 4 days and bowel lavage. In patients with ulcerative colitis as comorbidity, prednisone was added when there was an IBD flare simultaneous. The results of FMT were monitored by prospective collection of outcome data by the NDFB. Results Since the start of NDFB in March 2016 until August 2019, 186 FMT requests to treat 176 (r)CDI patients were reviewed within the NDFB working group including 26 patients with rCDI and IBD. In total, 129 patients (of which 14 suffered from IBD) were treated with 143 FMTs for CDI with a cure rate of 89.9% after a single FMT (116/129). FMT was deemed not suitable in 12 of 26 patients with IBD because patients had C. Difficile carriership instead of an active CDI infection. Fourteen IBD patients were treated with FMT (9 ulcerative colitis, 2 Crohn’s disease and 2 indeterminate colitis). 3/14 patients suffered from rCDI with an active episode of IBD. Of the 14 IBD patients treated with FMT, only one patient developed a relapse of a CDI infection within 2-months (total cure rate 92%). This cure rate does not differ from CDI patients without IBD. Conclusion In IBD patients with rCDI, FMT is equally effective compared with other patients with rCDI. In case of concurrent activity of IBD, pre-treatment with prednisolone in combination with vancomycin appears to be effective.

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