A fecal transplant after an organ transplant could prevent patients from developing recurrent antibiotic-resistant infections.
Fecal transplants, medically known as fecal microbiota transplants (FMT), are frequently used to treat persistent infections with Clostridioides difficile, or C. diff, a bacterium that causes diarrhea and inflammation, and that can be very difficult to eliminate once it gets a foothold in the intestines. The idea is that when the natural microbiota in the intestines is disturbed, it opens up space for pathogens to move in. Recolonizing the gut with healthy fecal microbiota from a donor may make the intestines a less welcoming place for these invaders.
Some studies using fecal transplants against C. diff also suggested that the treatment reduced other antibiotic-resistant pathogens in the gut, says Michael Woodworth, an infectious disease doctor at the Emory School of Medicine. He and his colleagues wanted to know if they could replicate those findings — and if fecal transplants could be helpful to a very vulnerable group of patients, kidney transplant recipients.
▲ Fecal transplants could reduce antibiotic-resistant pathogens in a vulnerable group of patients — kidney transplant recipients...
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