Fecal Microbiota Transplant

Aims: The fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) may be a possible solution for symptoms reduction and improvement of the clinical condition in Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), such as Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and Crohn's Disease (CD). In addition to being effective in other conditions associated with disequilibrium in gastrointestinal microbiota, such as recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (RCDI) and Metabolic Syndrome (MS). The aim of this study was to review the applicability of FMT: in UC, CD, RCDI and MS.

Study Design: Minireview.

Place and Duration of Study: Faculty of Medical Sciences of São José dos Campos- Humanitas, between June 2021 and August 2022.

Methodology: A literature search was performed in the PubMed database for clinical trial studies and review articles, published in the last 10 (ten) years. The remission of clinical conditions was established as the primary outcome and exclusion criteria was not blind or incomplete blinding studies. Based on these studies, a review regarding the applications of FMT in patients with IBD, RCDI and MS, especially its therapeutic effects, was performed.

Results: In total, 53 (fifty-three) articles were selected. Studies have shown that FMT can be useful in the treatment of RCDI with cure rates ranging from 85% to 90% and represent a possible alternative to antibiotic therapy in cases of primary infection by C. difficile. FMT seems to be effective in inducing remission of UC, but its durability and long-term safety are still not well defined. Furthermore, in the treatment of Crohn's disease and metabolic syndrome, some studies show beneficial effects, but further studies are needed.

Conclusion: The studies are optimistic and, even if modest, suggest that FMT has the potential for treatment and/or remission of different inflammatory and infectious conditions.