Abstract
Goals
To compare the clinical outcomes of different protocols for fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in two community hospitals with similar patient demographics.
Background
FMT is commonly performed for recurrent or refractory Clostridioides difficile infection (rCDI). The clinical efficacy of FMT for this indication has been well established. However, there has been no standardization or optimization of the amount of fecal material, method of feces preparation, or route of delivery for FMT.
Study
In this retrospective study, patients with rCDI received FMT using commercially available frozen fecal preparation (22.7 g) at Center A and locally prepared fresh fecal filtrate (30–50 g) at Center B. The primary outcome was defined as complete resolution of clinical symptoms related to rCDI after at least 8 weeks of follow-up.
Results
Fifty patients from each center were included in the study. Clinical success after initial FMT with lower-volume frozen fecal preparation at Center A was 32/50 (64.0%) compared to 49/50 (98.0%) with higher-volume fresh fecal filtrate at Center B (p < 0.0001). Seventeen patients in Center A and 1 patient in Center B underwent at least one repeat FMT. Overall clinical success was achieved in 43/50 (86%) of patients in Center A and 50/50 (100%) in Center B (p = 0.012).
Conclusions
Our results suggest superior clinical efficacy of a larger amount of fresh fecal filtrate over a smaller amount of commercially available frozen fecal preparation. Further studies are needed to examine the effect of varying amounts of feces and the optimal protocol for FMT in patients with rCDI.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Surawicz CM, Brandt LJ, Binion DG, et al. Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of Clostridium difficile infections. Am J Gastroenterol. 2013;108:478.
Gough E, Shaikh H, Manges AR. Systematic review of intestinal microbiota transplantation (fecal bacteriotherapy) for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection. Clin Infect Dis. 2011;53:994–1002.
Van Nood E, Vrieze A, Nieuwdorp M, et al. Duodenal infusion of donor feces for recurrent Clostridium difficile. New Engl J Med. 2013;368:407–415.
McDonald LC, Gerding DN, Johnson S, et al. Clinical practice guidelines for Clostridium difficile infection in adults and children: 2017 update by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). Clin Infect Dis. 2018;66:e1–e48.
Kelly Brendan J, Tebas Pablo. Clinical practice and infrastructure review of fecal microbiota transplantation for Clostridium difficile infection. Chest. 2018;153:266–277.
Hamilton MJ, Weingarden AR, Sadowsky MJ, Khoruts A. Standardized frozen preparation for transplantation of fecal microbiota for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection. Am J Gastroenterol. 2012;107:761.
Bakken JS, Borody T, Brandt LJ, et al. Treating Clostridium difficile infection with fecal microbiota transplantation. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2011;9:1044–1049.
Dutta SK, Girotra M, Garg S, et al. Efficacy of combined jejunal and colonic fecal microbiota transplantation for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2014;12:1572–1576.
Iyengar Vasantha, et al. Human stools as a source of viable colonic epithelial cells. FASEB J. 1991;5:2856–2859.
Rose C, et al. The characterization of feces and urine: a review of the literature to inform advanced treatment technology. Crit Rev Environ Sci Technol. 2015;45:1827–1879.
Goldenberg SD, Batra R, Beales I, et al. Comparison of different strategies for providing fecal microbiota transplantation to treat patients with recurrent Clostridium difficile infection in two english hospitals: a review. Infect Dis Ther. 2018;7:71–86.
Jiang ZD, Ajami NJ, Petrosino JF, et al. Randomised clinical trial: faecal microbiota transplantation for recurrent Clostridum difficile infection–fresh, or frozen, or lyophilised microbiota from a small pool of healthy donors delivered by colonoscopy. Aliment Pharmacol Therap. 2017;45:899–908.
Lee CH, Steiner T, Petrof EO, et al. Frozen vs fresh fecal microbiota transplantation and clinical resolution of diarrhea in patients with recurrent Clostridium difficile infection: a randomized clinical trial. J Am Med Assoc. 2016;315:142–149.
Staley Christopher, et al. Successful resolution of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection using freeze-dried, encapsulated fecal microbiota; pragmatic cohort study. Am J Gastroenterol. 2017;112:940.
Dorsaz Stéphane, et al. Changes in microbiota profiles after prolonged frozen storage of stool suspensions. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2020;10:77.
Furuya-Kanamori Luis, et al. Upper versus lower gastrointestinal delivery for transplantation of fecal microbiota in recurrent or refractory Clostridium difficile infection. J Clin Gastroenterol. 2017;51:145–150.
DeFilipp Zachariah, et al. Drug-resistant E. coli bacteremia transmitted by fecal microbiota transplant. New Engl J Med. 2019;381:2043–2050.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2020. Information Pertaining To Additional Safety Protections Regarding Use Of Fecal Microbiota For Transplantation—Testing Of Stool Donors For Enteropathogenic Escherichia Coli And Shigatoxin-Producing Escherichia Col. [online].https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/safety-availability-biologics/information-pertaining-additional-safety-protections-regarding-use-fecal-microbiota-transplantation-0. Accessed 22 May 2020.
Kassam Zain, et al. Fecal microbiota transplantation for clostridium difficile infection: systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Gastroenterol. 2013;108:500–508.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
No authors declare any relevant conflicts of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Agarwal, A., Maheshwari, A., Verma, S. et al. Superiority of Higher-Volume Fresh Feces Compared to Lower-Volume Frozen Feces in Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for Recurrent Clostridioides Difficile Colitis. Dig Dis Sci 66, 2000–2004 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-020-06459-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-020-06459-0