Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for the Management of Clostridium difficile Infection

Surg Infect (Larchmt). 2018 Nov/Dec;19(8):785-791. doi: 10.1089/sur.2018.221. Epub 2018 Oct 9.

Abstract

The clinical burden of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) continues to grow. Despite the multitude of treatment options that have been developed and tested to combat the morbidity and death associated with CDI, recurrence remains common. As such, treatment modalities such as fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) have become studied increasingly; FMT serves to transplant stool from carefully selected healthy subjects into C. difficile positive patients through a variety of delivery routes. In doing so, FMT is hypothesized to correct dysbiosis of the recipient gut microbiome addressing the root cause of the pathogenesis of C. difficile infection. A growing body of evidence shows FMT to be efficacious in this setting, and the study of FMT accordingly continues to evolve to identify novel indications for its utilization.

Keywords: colitis; fecal microbiota transplantation.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Clostridium Infections / complications
  • Clostridium Infections / epidemiology
  • Clostridium Infections / therapy*
  • Dysbiosis / epidemiology
  • Dysbiosis / therapy*
  • Fecal Microbiota Transplantation / methods*
  • Humans
  • Treatment Outcome
  • United States / epidemiology