Methodology, safety and applications of colonic transendoscopic enteral tubing (with video)

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the methodology, safety and clinical applications of colonic transendoscopic enteral tubing (TET) as a new method of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) and colonic administration. Methods This prospective study included patients who underwent colonic TET for FMT and(or) colonic administration in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from October 2014 to December 2018. The TET procedure time, success rate, retention time of TET tube, factors influencing TET tube retention, adverse events and satisfaction degree were evaluated. Results A total of 257 patients underwent TET, among whom 130 patients (50.6%) for microbiota tronsplantation, 8 patients (3.1%) for colon-drip medication, 118 patients (45.9%) for FMT and colon-drip medication, and 1 patient (0.4%) without treatment after TET. The TET procedure time was 10.0±2.8 min. The number of endoscopic clips used was 3.5±1.0. The success rate of the TET procedure was 100.0% (257/257). The retention time of TET tube for 160 patients maintaining the tube for treatment was 9.3±3.8 days. Multivariate analysis indicated that endoscopic clip type (P=0.001) was an independent influencing factor for the retention time of the tube. A total of 9 patients (3.5%) reported adverse events of mild anus discomfort, 4 patients (1.6%) of mobile inconvenience, 3 (1.2%) of anal pain, 2 (0.8%) of mild abdominal pain, 2 (0.8%) of mild bloating, and 1 (0.4%) of mild anal bleeding. No severe adverse events were observed in this study. The total satisfaction degree on colonic TET was 97.3% (250/257) in all patients. Conclusion The colonic TET, a safe and easy-operating endoscopic interventional technology with a high degree of patients satisfaction, can be used for colonic delivering of FMT and medications for various diseases. Key words: Colonoscopy; Fecal microbiota transplantation; Enema; Transendoscopic enteral tubing