Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for Clostridium difficile Infection: A Systematic Review

Abstract The role of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is not well-known. To assess the efficacy, comparative effectiveness, and harms of FMT for CDI. MEDLINE (1980 to January 2015), Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov, followed by hand-searching references from systematic reviews and identified studies. Any study of FMT to treat adult patients with CDI; case reports were only used to report harms. Data were extracted by 1 author and verified by another; 2 authors independently assessed risk of bias and strength of evidence. Two randomized, controlled trials (RCTs); 28 case-series studies; and 5 case reports were included. Two RCTs and 21 case-series studies (516 patients receiving FMT) reported using FMT for patients with recurrent CDI. A high proportion of treated patients had symptom resolution; however, the role of previous antimicrobials is unclear. One RCT comparing FMT with 2 control groups (n = 43) reported resolution of symptoms in 81%, 31%, and 23% of the FMT, vancomycin, or vancomycin-plus-bowel lavage groups, respectively (P