Antibiotics have long been used to treatC.
About one in six patients who getC.
difftwice and can be up to 65% after the third bout.
Roger Harris / Science Photo Library / Getty Images
Its really exciting, said Sahil Khanna, MBBS, MS, a gastroenterologist and head of theC.
diffand gut microbiome research group at Mayo Clinic.
This will help millions of people who get sick fromC.
Why Antibiotics Arent Great for TreatingC.
diff
The gastrointestinal tract is an ecosystem teeming with microbes.
diffinfection, the bacteria release toxins that cause damage to the colon and cause watery diarrhea and abdominal cramping.
While antibiotics can kill offC.
This is partly because antibiotics like vancomycin and Dificid (fidaxomicin) kill part of theC.
diffbacteria but dont always neutralize its spores.
FMT, on the other hand, reintroduces microbes that can suppress the proliferation ofC.
diffand keep it from overtaking the gut.
This is a vicious cyclethe antibiotics that treat the infection could also increase the chances of new infections.
difficileantibiotics are a victim of their own success.
Theyre really good at killingC.
diff,told Verywell.
How the Rebyota Fecal Transplant Works
When a patient has a recurrentC.
diffinfection, their provider will prescribe a course of antibiotics to treat the active infection.
Then, after a washout period, the patient will visit a clinicians office to receive Rebyota.
Many fecal transplants are done via a colonoscopy.
Rebyota, however, is given through anenemaan injection of fluid through theanusand into the large intestine.
No bowel preparation is needed as with a colonoscopy.
Thats the advantage of this over traditional fecal microbiota transplantation in terms of the process.
The enema is made from the stool of healthy donors that is purified and processed.
Rebyota was tested in five clinical trials with more than 1,000 total participants.
This is the largest clinical trial program in the field of microbiome-based therapeutics,according to Ferring.
Curry said clinicians often seek fecal transplantation for patients who are not improving on antibiotics, butC.
diffisnt always the culprit for patients with diarrhea.
Even if they test positive for the bacteria, a fecal transplant may not work for them.
Besides, Rebyota cant be given unless someone has been off their antibiotics for a few days.
This could be a problem for some patients who suffer many recurringC.
This is not really a therapy to fix your acuteC.
This is a therapy to give when your antibiotics forC.
diffare nearing their end, and youre feeling better, he said.
And I think thats where its going to be very important to educate physicians.
The most common side effects were stomach pain, diarrhea, bloating, gas, and nausea.
There were no reports of infectious transmission from the donor stool.
Despite these positive findings, there is some ambiguity about how the treatment actually works.
We dont fundamentally know whats in it, Curry said.
One Rebyota dose could come from one human.
It could be pooled from 50 humans or 500 humans.
We dont knowthey dont spell that out in the label.
But theres been a big question mark hanging over [FMT]: Is this safe?
Its a human product.
This a desperate infection.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.What isC.
Song JH, Kim YS.RecurrentClostridium difficileinfection: risk factors, treatment, and prevention.Gut Liver.
difficileinfection.Front Cell Infect Microbiol.
2022;82(15):1527-1538. doi:10.1007/s40265-022-01797-x
