Frozen fecal microbiota transplantation may be as effective as fresh FMT, making frozen FMT a possible treatment option for patients with Clostridium difficile infections that are unresponsive to other treatments, according to research in JAMA.
Researchers from Canada randomly assigned adults with C. diff infections to receive frozen or fresh FMT via enema. Thirteen weeks after treatment, 83.5 percent of the frozen FMT group and 85 percent of the fresh FMT group had clinical resolution of diarrhea without relapse.
"In this clinical trial, the use of frozen FMT compared with fresh FMT for the treatment of recurrent or refractory CDI was noninferior in terms of efficacy; findings for frozen FMT and fresh FMT were similar in terms of safety," the study authors wrote. "Given the potential advantages of providing frozen FMT, its use is a reasonable option in this setting."