Promising Treatment Not Widely Available
March 1, 2016
Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a promising therapy for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), but is often not readily available. A new study suggests that frozen FMT is as effective as fresh FMT in patients with recurrent or refractory CDI. In a randomized, double-blind, noninferiority trial, 232 adults with CDI were enrolled in six centers in Canada. Roughly half were given frozen FMT while the other half received fresh FMT via enema. The proportion of patients with clinical resolution was 83.5% for frozen FMT and 85.1% for fresh FMT (P = 0.01 for noninferiority). Similar results occurred in a modified intention-to-treat analysis. There were no differences in proportion of serious adverse events between treatment groups. The authors concluded that among adults with recurrent or refractory CDI, the use of frozen compared with fresh FMT did not result in worse proportion of clinical resolution of diarrhea (noninferior) (JAMA 2016;315:142-149. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.18098). The study is important because it validates the use of frozen/commercial FMT for use in CDI infections.
Among adults with recurrent or refractory Clostridium difficile infection, the use of frozen compared with fresh fecal microbiota transplantation did not result in worse proportion of clinical resolution of diarrhea.
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