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FMT effectively treated severe, complicated C. difficile infection
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Fecal microbiota transplant was successful in treating patients with severe or complicated Clostridium difficile infection, according to data presented recently at the American Gastroenterological Association’s James W. Freston Conference in Chicago.
To investigate the efficacy of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in patients whose C. difficile infection (CDI) was severe and/or complicated, Olga C. Aroniadis, MD, gastroenterology fellow, Montefiore Medical Center, New York, and colleagues conducted a multicenter long-term follow-up study.
Olga C. Aroniadis
“In our cohort of 17 patients from nine medical centers, [FMT] was a successful treatment option for severe or complicated CDI in whom antibiotic regimens had failed,” Aroniadis told Healio.com/Gastroenterology.
Mean patient age was 66.4 years, 76.4% were women, and mean follow-up was 11.4 months. CDI defined as both severe and complicated accounted for 76.4% of the cohort, while the remainder were defined as one or the other.
“A primary cure rate of 88.2% and a secondary cure rate of 94.1% were achieved,” Aroniadis said. “Moreover, diarrhea and abdominal tenderness resolved rapidly,” with mean time to resolution of 5.7 and 9.6 days, respectively.
“Cure was [also] durable, lasting a maximum of 42 months,” she said. “Late recurrence, which was documented in only one patient, was prompted by antibiotic treatment of diverticulitis.
“FMT should be considered in patients with severe or complicated CDI who are not improving on traditional therapy,” she concluded.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.