Fecal transplantation for the treatment of recurrent clostridium difficile infection

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is currently a leading cause of antibiotic and health care-related diarrhea. The incidence and the severity of CDI-related diarrhea have increased dramatically in the USA and Europe in the past few decades. The emergence of multidrug-resistant hypervirulent strains of C. difficile has led to an increase in mortality. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) (also known as fecal bacteriotherapy) has been utilized sporadically since the 1950s; and currently, the interest in using FMT has grown again in the past few years for the treatment of CDI and other chronic gastrointestinal diseases. FMT has shown to be effective, cheap, and has very few side effects. It is believed to manipulate and restore the gut microbiota, and therefore enhances the growth of "healthy" bacteria that break the cycle of recurrent CDI. This article focus on the recent case reports on FMT, and general approach to patients undergoing this therapy. Data were obtained through a literature search via PubMed and Google.