[A pilot study of treating ulcerative colitis with fecal microbiota transplantation].

OBJECTIVE

To explore the procedure, effectiveness and safety of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC).

METHODS

Seven patients (6 men and 1 woman, aged 17-66 years) with active UC were treated with FMT through endoscopic duodenal infusion or combined endoscopic duodenal and colonic approaches. The clinical manifestations and laboratory results were recorded before and after FMT respectively. Disease response was evaluated with Mayo scores. Fresh fecal suspension prepared from healthy donors who were strictly screened, was infused into patients' intestinal tracts within 6 hours.

RESULTS

The average disease duration of 7 patients with UC was (9.1 ± 8.5) years (range 0.5-24.0 years). One patient underwent FMT for three times and one for twice, while the other five were treated for once. The follow-up time was (98.6 ± 70.8) days (30-210 days). All patients achieved some extent of improvements with the reduction of Mayo scores 7, 4, 6, 5, 6, 9 and 9, respectively. Transient fever, diarrhea and abdominal distension were observed in some patients after FMT, while alleviated spontaneously 2-3 days after the procedure. One patient had high fever and mild ascites caused by secondary infections, which were controlled by the symptomatic treatment and antibiotics. Severe adverse reactions were not found.

CONCLUSIONS

FMT is effective to active UC, the short-term side effects and complications are basically acceptable and controllable. The long-term efficacy and risks of FMT need to be verified further.