Fecal microbiota therapy for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection in HIV-infected persons.

Elopre, Latesha; Rodriguez, Martin · Ann Intern Med · 2013

case_report · Level V

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Abstract

We report 2 cases of successful use of fecal microbiota therapy (fecal transplant) for recurrent <i>Clostridium difficile</i> infection in HIV-infected individuals. Both patients had many recurrences despite antibiotic therapy and improved after receiving fecal microbiota from healthy donors. Recurrent <i>Clostridium difficile</i> infection (CDI) is a common and difficult to manage problem. The risk of recurrence after a first episode is estimated to be around 20–30%, and is even higher after second or later recurrences<sup>[1]</sup>. A disrupted fecal microbiota from previous use of antibiotics plays a major role in recurrent CDI<sup>[1]</sup>. Because of the high rate of recurrence, many different treatment alternatives have been proposed<sup>[1]</sup>. In recent years several cases of successful use of fecal microbiota therapy (FMT) in the treatment of recurrent CDI have been published, with a reported success rate over 90% <sup>[1]</sup>. Here we present what to our knowledge is the first report of FMT in HIV-infected individuals.

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