Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 May;23(5):337.e1-337.e3.
doi: 10.1016/j.cmi.2016.12.025. Epub 2017 Jan 3.

Predictors of failure after single faecal microbiota transplantation in patients with recurrent Clostridium difficile infection: results from a 3-year, single-centre cohort study

G Ianiro  1 , L Valerio  2 , L Masucci  3 , S Pecere  1 , S Bibbò  1 , G Quaranta  3 , B Posteraro  4 , D Currò  5 , M Sanguinetti  3 , A Gasbarrini  1 , G Cammarota  6
Affiliations
Free article

Predictors of failure after single faecal microbiota transplantation in patients with recurrent Clostridium difficile infection: results from a 3-year, single-centre cohort study

G Ianiro et al. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2017 May.
Free article

Abstract

Objectives: Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is an effective treatment for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Although a single faecal infusion is usually sufficient to eradicate CDI, a considerable number of patients need multiple infusions to be cured. The aim of this study was to identify predictors of failure after single faecal infusion in patients with recurrent CDI.

Methods: We included patients with recurrent CDI prospectively treated with FMT by colonoscopy. By means of univariate and multivariate analysis, variables including female gender, age, number of CDI recurrences, severity of CDI, hospitalization, inadequate bowel preparation, unrelated donor, and use of frozen faeces, were assessed to predict failure after single faecal infusion.

Results: Sixty-four patients (39 women; mean age 74 years) were included. Of them, 44 (69%) were cured by a single faecal infusion, whereas 20 (31%) needed repeat infusions. Overall, FMT cured 62 of 64 (97%) patients. In the subgroup of patients with severe CDI, only eight of 26 (30%) were cured with a single infusion. At multivariate analysis, severe CDI (OR 24.66; 95% CI 4.44-242.08; p 0.001) and inadequate bowel preparation (OR 11.53; 95% CI 1.71-115.51; p 0.019) were found to be independent predictors of failure after single faecal infusion.

Conclusions: Severe CDI and inadequate bowel preparation appear to be independent predictors of failure after single faecal infusion in patients treated with FMT by colonoscopy for recurrent CDI. Our results may help to optimize protocols and outcomes of FMT in patients with recurrent CDI.

Keywords: Bowel preparation; Clostridium difficile infection; Colonoscopy; Faecal microbiota transplantation; Faecal transfer; Faecal transplant; Gastrointestinal infections; Microbiome; Microbiota.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

LinkOut - more resources