Fecal Transplant C Diff
Fecal microbiota transplant is not a new concept. In fact, stool transplants have been in documented practice all the way back to 4th century China, where “yellow soup” was used to treat food poisoning and severe diarrhea. Later records mention that “golden syrup” was used to treat gastrointestinal issues. In addition to this, information was uncovered that German soldiers would consume stool from their camels to treat bacterial dysentery while at war. But that’s not all. Records also indicate that fecal transplants have been used in veterinary medicine, dating back to the 1700s, where veterinarians would transfer gastrointestinal contents from a healthy animal to a sick animal with highly successful outcomes.
While interest and research continued over the next couple of centuries, it wasn’t until 1989 that the benefits of FMT came into the spotlight of Western medicine. According to an article in Immunological Medicine, “The first case of FMT for the treatment of UC was reported in 1989. In this report, one of the authors, Dr. Justin D. Bennet himself, received FMT by enema for his continuously active UC. His symptoms disappeared for the first time in his 11-year disease history without any medications and absence of active inflammation was confirmed on colonoscopy.” Stool transplant procedures are now gaining even more notoriety, particularly as a cure for recurrent C. diff infections caused by antibiotic therapy. With this FMT procedure, there is well over 90% cure rate of refractory (antibiotic resistant) C. diff infections.
FMT And Donor Stool
Fecal microbiota transplantation, by definition, is a procedure where stool is taken from a healthy donor, made into a liquid mixture and transferred into the colon of a sick patient, to introduce helpful gut bacteria. In short, it is an instant probiotic cocktail infusion of good bacteria. It is virtually a cure for C diff that wipes away symptoms for most recipients within a 24-hour period. FMT is so effective that it has become the new standard of care for treating C diff infections over the last several years.
The donor stool is typically received from a centralized donor bank, where there is a screening process in place to ensure a healthy sample. The donors themselves are screened through a medical history questionnaire and physical exam, and the donations they give undergo multi-tiered blood screens and stool sample analyses to ensure the best quality. These analyses include the following screens for both blood and stool:
Bacterial blood - Treponema pallidum and helicobacter pylori)
Bacterial stool - Enteric pathogen culture (salmonella, shigella, campylobacter), Listeria, Shiga toxin (E. Coli), H. Pylori enzyme immunoassay, MRSA, VRE culture
Viral blood - hepatitis A, B & C, HIV, Epstein-Barr virus, HTLV, JC virus, and cytomegalovirus
Viral stool - adenovirus, norovirus, and rotavirus
Parasitic blood - Entamoeba histolytica, Strongyloides stercoralis, Schistosoma spp
Parasitic stool - Ovum and parasitic microscopic examination, Microsporidia microscopic examination, Giardia fecal antigen, Cryptosporidium, Isospora and cyclospora microscopic examination
Fungal
Other bloodwork (CBC, CMP, LFP, ESR, CRP)
Traditionally, the donor stool was administered by nasogastric and nasoduodenal tubes, through a colonoscope, or as a retention enema. The most recent breakthrough in modalities is the capsule. Popularly referred to as the “poop pill”, this capsule is transforming how people think about stool transplants.
How the Capsule Is Changing the Course Of FMT
Because the idea of stool transplantation can be off-putting to many people, the pill is changing all of that. The capsules contain frozen donor stool that has been through the screening process that was described in detail above. The capsules are odorless and tasteless. They are made by processing the donor feces until it contains only bacteria, then encapsulating the bacteria concentrate inside three layers of gelatin capsule for safe and proper inoculation of the colon. Anecdotal evidence suggests that most patients reviewing a FMT start to see improvement in symptoms within 24-48 hours. Usually during this time period, patients experience their first formed stool. While side effects are usually mild they include diarrhea, abdominal cramps or pain, low-grade fever, bloating, flatulence, and constipation, but most of these will resolve on their own fairly quickly.
Studies show that there is not a significant difference in regards to efficacy in the capsule form vs. the colonoscopy form of donor stool administration. So, given this, most patients consider the capsule a more favorable option. However, there are many more advantages to using this modality, as well:
It is less invasive than a colonoscopy, which would require sedation, or sn enema.
It is more cost effective than traditional procedures.
It is convenient in that the capsule is a one time dose.
Why Purety
At Purety Family Medical Center, we strive to provide the most innovative treatments, protocols and programs for holistic healing and longevity. We pride ourselves in being able to offer unique tools to provide cutting edge therapies, including: regenerative therapies, ozone, personalized IV drip therapies, chelation, injection therapies, bioidentical HRT, and FMT fecal transplant.
Our core philosophy revolves around the body’s innate ability to heal itself through proper lifestyle and nature cure. There are times when the body needs extra help. As naturopathic experts we appreciate how a healthy, balanced gut microbiome lays the foundation for optimal, integrative health. We believe a healthy gut is pivotal in avoiding digestive disorders that can lead to dysfunction of various other organs in the body as a result.
At the Purety Clinic, our fecal transplant doctors offer fecal microbiota transplantation via retention enema and via encapsulation, neither of which have any known serious adverse effects. The stool banks we use have highly selective screening guidelines in the United States to ensure that the fecal matter transplant samples are of the absolute highest quality standards. Currently, there is a 92% cure rate of recurrent C. diff treatment with oral capsules and 89% with retention enemas. Let us help you get on the path to wellness.
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5479392/
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/25785826.2020.1792040
https://gastro.org/practice-guidance/gi-patient-center/topic/fecal-microbiota-transplantation-fmt/
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/1108660