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Fecal Microbial Transplant: For Whom, How, and When

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Textbook of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

Abstract

Fecal microbial transplantation (FMT), also known as fecal bacteriotherapy or stool transplant, is the transfer of a fecal suspension from a healthy donor into the gastrointestinal tract of a diseased recipient. FMT has recently emerged as both an effective and controversial therapy. Although it has been performed for a variety of maladies for centuries, if not longer, FMT has only very recently become an accepted therapy for recurrent and relapsing Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in both adults and children where its effectiveness over conventional CDI treatments has now been demonstrated in a randomized controlled trial. A combination of its success in CDI and our burgeoning knowledge of the complex role that microbes play in a myriad of human diseases has led many to question if there are expanded therapeutic applications for FMT for other human gastrointestinal and even extraintestinal diseases. As such, FMT has taken center stage as a potential novel therapeutic with new clinical trials evaluating its safety and efficacy now well underway.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Comer Children’s Hospital, 5841 S. Maryland Avenue, 60637, Chicago, IL, USA

    Stacy A. Kahn

  2. Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, MassGeneral Hospital for Children, Boston, MA, USA

    Jess L. Kaplan

Authors
  1. Stacy A. Kahn
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Correspondence to Stacy A. Kahn .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Stefano Guandalini

  2. Clinical Director Child Health King’s College Hospital, Professor and Director Pediatric Liver, GI and Nutrition Center, London, United Kingdom

    Anil Dhawan

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Hebrew University Hadassah Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel

    David Branski

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Kahn, S., Kaplan, J. (2016). Fecal Microbial Transplant: For Whom, How, and When. In: Guandalini, S., Dhawan, A., Branski, D. (eds) Textbook of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17169-2_35

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17169-2_35

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