Abstract
Clostridium difficile (C. diff) is a pathogen that affects hospitalised patients on broad-spectrum antibiotics. Recently, a more virulent strain resistant to standard treatment has been observed, in parallel with increasing rates of C. diff in hospitalised and nursing home patients. Metronidazole is the current initial treatment for mild to moderate C. diff, followed by high doses of vancomycin for unresponsive or difficult-to-treat patients. Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is an alternative therapy that is more efficacious. The findings of the first randomised controlled trial (RCT) on FMT were released in January 2013, and they provide statistically significant results that suggest FMT is more effective than standard therapies. This article reviews the RCT and three other studies, all of which provide a solid recommendation for clinicians to consider fresh faecal transplantation for patients with debilitating recurrent C. diff infections.
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