Poo transplants to tackle hundreds of people with a hard-to-treat superbug infections

Hundreds of people with a hard-to-treat superbug are to be offered poo transplants to tackle their infections.

Known as a faecal microbiota transplant (FMT), trials show that taking gut bacteria from a healthy person’s stools can help restore healthy good bacteria.

Treatment can be given through a pill that you swallow or through a tube inserted directly through the nose. Or you could have it inserted through a tube up your colon.

Nice says the benefits are two-pronged: patients may need fewer antibiotics and have a better quality of life after treatment; and it saves the NHS thousands.

They added that the method may be considered for patients who have had two unsuccessful treatments for superbug clostridium difficile (C.diff), which causes diarrhoea.

Mark Chapman, interim director of Medical Technology at Nice, said: ‘There is currently a need for an effective treatment of C.diff in people who have had two or more rounds of antibiotics.

‘Our committee’s recommendation of this innovative treatment will provide another tool for health professionals to use in the fight against this infection, while at the same time balancing the need to offer the best care with value for money.

‘Use of this treatment will also help reduce the reliance on antibiotics and in turn reduce the chances of antimicrobial resistance, which supports NICE’s guidance on good antimicrobial stewardship.’

C.diff is a type of bacteria that can cause diarrhoea. It often affects people who have been taking antibiotics

Nice said that it made its decision after reviewing evidence from five trials of 274 adults. The data showed that more C.diff infections were resolved with FMT than antibiotic treatment in four of the trials and there was no difference in the other. It said the data showed that the treatment can resolve up to 94% of infections.

FMT can be considerably cheaper than antibiotics if given as an oral capsule – saving more than £8,000; it can save hundreds of pounds if given as a colonoscopy but it is more expensive when given as an enema. Nice has estimated that 450 to 500 people in England could be treated using FMT for multiple recurrences of C.diff infections each year.

It said that a strict donor screening programme should be in place and that treatments should be manufactured in accordance with human medicine regulations.

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