‘See C. diff diagnosed’ campaign aims to spread awareness, defuse public health threat
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For November’s Clostridioides difficile Awareness Month, the Peggy Lillis Foundation has launched a “See C. diff diagnosed” campaign to educate the public on the most common health care-associated infection, according to a press release.
Despite that C. difficile causes about half a million infections in the U.S. every year, only about 30% of Americans have heard of the illness, according to the Peggy Lillis Foundation, highlighting the need for increased awareness to ensure proper treatment and improved outcomes.
Throughout the month of November, the Peggy Lillis Foundation has several events planned to raise awareness and advocate for patients fighting the infection, aiming to reach 30 million people.
“We look forward to our 6th Annual ‘See C. diff’ campaign,” Christian John Lillis, CEO of Peggy Lillis Foundation, said in the release. “We’re focusing this year’s efforts on the theme of ‘diagnosis.’ Many C. diff patients struggle to get an initial diagnosis, particularly those who become ill outside of the health care setting. We’re excited about all the events and educational opportunities we have planned throughout November.”
In recognition of C. diff Awareness Month, Healio recaps topics impacting individuals with C. difficile infection, including new data on the use of Rebyota (fecal microbiota, live-jslm; Ferring Pharmaceuticals) as a treatment, guidelines and updates on the use of fecal microbiota transplantation, and more.
‘Some may die’: AGA urges continued access to conventional FMT for C. difficile patients
OpenBiome will continue distribution of investigational FMT through 2024, as suspension may put certain patients with recurrent, refractory or fulminant C. difficile at risk, according to the AGA.
“It is important to understand that the suspension is a voluntary action on the part of OpenBiome, which is the result of some communications they have received from the FDA,” AGA spokesperson Colleen R. Kelly, MD co-principal investigator of the AGA’s FMT National Registry and gastroenterologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, told Healio. “FDA issued a guidance in November 2022, which stated that enforcement policy around investigational new drug applications for FMT would no longer be extended to ‘stool banks.’” Read more.
VIDEO: Rebyota effective in prevention of recurrent C. diff, even in higher risk patients
Rebyota was safe and effective at 8 weeks and up to 6 months in patients with recurrent C. difficile infection, many of whom had other gastrointestinal comorbidities and risk factors, according to data presented at the ACG Annual Scientific Meeting.
“We showed a significant decrease in recurrence rates of Clostridioides difficile in a real-world population,” Timothy E. Ritter, MD, a gastroenterologist at GI Alliance in Southlake, Texas, told Healio. “It was tolerated extremely well.” Watch here.
VIDEO: Real-world data confirm Rebyota’s ‘consistent’ efficacy in recurrent C. difficile
In a Healio video exclusive, Paul Feuerstadt, MD, FACG, AGAF, discusses real-world results for Rebyota as a treatment of recurrent C. difficile infection, which were presented at Digestive Disease Week.
“Any treatment that could replete the microbiota, replete the Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes, can help break that cycle of recurrence and help patients feel better,” Feuerstadt, assistant clinical professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine and attending gastroenterologist at PACT Gastroenterology Center, told Healio. Watch here.
‘No clear efficacy benefit’ to combining bezlotoxumab with FMT in IBD, recurrent C. diff
Bezlotoxumab (Zinplava, Merck) in combination with FMT did not further reduce recurrence of C. difficile infection in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, according to data presented at the ACG Annual Scientific Meeting.
“This was the first clinical trial to assess the clinical effect of FMT in combination with bezlotoxumab in patients with IBD and recurrent C. diff,” Jessica R. Allegretti, MD, MPH, FACG, medical director of the Crohn’s and Colitis Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, said during the meeting. “This data suggests no clear efficacy benefit to the combination approach compared to FMT alone.” Read more.
AGA guideline endorses FMT for recurrent C. difficile; ‘not yet advised’ for IBS, IBD
Although effective in select patients, the AGA advised against fecal microbiota-based therapies to prevent recurrent C. difficile infection in severely immunocompromised adults or to treat other gastrointestinal conditions.
“Under each indication we have included expert recommendations to help those who want to implement FMT understand best practices,” Colleen R. Kelly, MD, from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, said in a media briefing. “As simple as it sounds — put dilute stool into a person — there are a lot of questions around making the diagnosis of recurrent CDI, what to do with anti-CDI therapies around FMT, how protocols differ for treatment of recurrent vs. acute severe/fulminant CDI and how to decide when to use an alternative therapy instead.” Read more.
References:
- Peggy Lillis Foundation announces “See C. Diff Diagnosed” campaign, events during national C. Diff Awareness Month. https://www.healthcaredive.com/press-release/20241112-peggy-lillis-foundation-announces-see-c-diff-diagnosed-campaign-events/. Published Nov. 1, 2024. Accessed Nov. 18, 2024.
- See C. Diff Diagnosed. Peggy Lillis Foundation. https://cdiff.org/see-c-diff/. Accessed Nov. 18, 2024.
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