A study, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, examined the durability and long-term clinical outcomes of fecal microbiota transplant for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection as well as patient satisfaction after FMT.
Researchers studied eligible patients who received FMT for recurrent C. diff at Atlanta-based Emory Hospital between July 1, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2016. They contacted the patients via telephone for a follow up survey. Of 190 eligible patients, 137 patients completed the survey. The median time from last FMT to the follow up was 22 months.
Overall 82 percent of the 137 patients had no recurrence of C. diff at 22 months' follow up post-FMT, while the rest had C. diff at the follow up. Antibiotic exposure for non-C. diff infections after FMT was more common in the recurrent C. diff group as compared to the non-recurrent C. diff group — 75 percent and 38 percent, respectively. Overall, 33 percent reported development of a new medical condition or symptom post-FMT.
Ninety-five percent of patients indicated they would undergo FMT again, and 70 percent of those patients reported they would prefer FMT to antibiotics as initial treatment if they were to have a C. diff recurrence.
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